48-Hour Nationwide Blockade Underway

A fresh 48-hour blockade across Bangladesh called by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies in the ongoing one-point movement began Wednesday (November 8) morning.

Reports received from the divisional headquarters and a number of district towns said that no long-route bus left the cities and towns for Dhaka Wednesday morning but those left Dhaka last night reached the cities and towns during the time.

Train movement from and to Dhaka was, however, normal, officials said.

The number of buses and other vehicles plying on local routes, especially inside the cities, was much lower than the normal days.

In Dhaka, no bus left from Gabtali, Sayedabad and Mahakhali bus terminals for distant districts since 6:00am, our correspondents reported from the spots, referring to staff at ticket counters at the terminals.

Class attendance in the morning shift in different schools was much lower than the normal days, correspondents who visited Banashree branch of Matijheel Ideal School and College, Avoy Bonodini High School at Rajarbagh in Basaboo reported.

Presence of law enforcement agencies on the roads was higher than normal days.

Sources in the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party said that they brought out short processions in different areas of the city supporting the blockade programme.

Hours before beginning the blockade, unidentified people set fire to two buses at Malibagh and Matijheel in Dhaka Tuesday night. No casualty was reported.

The parties and alliances, including the Jamaat-e-Islami, Liberal Democratic Party, Ganatantra Mancha, and Gono Odhiker Parishad, have called for the blockade to realise their one-point demand for the resignation of the ruling Awami League, dissolving the parliament and holding the next general election under a neutral government.

This is the third spell of blockade programmes enforced by the opposition parties following the police and ruling party attacks on the BNP’s October 28 Dhaka grand rally.

According to BNP, around 9,000 party leaders and activists have been arrested in countrywide raids that started four to five days before their scheduled grand rally on October 28.