Youth Rally: Stage collapses under weight of leaders

The youth rally called by the BNP’s three associate organisations witnessed an unexpected situation when the stage collapsed due to the heavy weight of leaders and activists in the capital’s Suhrawardy Udyan on Saturday afternoon. 

However, the rally resumed after a temporary stage was set up on a pick-up van in front of the collapsed structure. No casualties were reported from the incident.  

Jubo Dal, Chhatra Dal and Swechasebak Dal organised the rally, with the slogan ‘Desh Bachate Tarunyer Somabesh’. The leaders and activists started turning up to the venue in groups in the morning, though the rally began at around 2:00 pm. 

The stage was set up on the eastern part of the Udyan, adjacent to the tennis court of the Engineers Institution of Bangladesh building.

The organisations' top brass took position on the stage, while a good number of subordinate leaders and activists went there to call on them. However, some of the newcomers opted to stay on the stage, putting extra pressure on the structure. 

Repeated requests were made through the megaphone to the undesired leaders and activists to descend from the stage, fearing a potential collapse.

However, the warnings were not heeded, leading to the embarrassing outcome.

Around 2:45 pm, the stage was seen broken and tilted towards the back. 

Later, the organisers quickly improvised a temporary stage on a pick up van around 3:00 pm. 

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Swechasebak Dal president SM Jilani, Chhatra Dal president Kazi Rawnakul Islam, and Jubo Dal president Sultan Salah Uddin, among others, were present on the stage.