Curfew in Gopalganj: Tense morning with empty roads, markets

A curfew has been in effect in Gopalganj since Wednesday night following a day-long spree of attacks, clashes, vandalism, and arson surrounding the National Citizen Party (NCP)’s rally in the Sadar upazila yesterday.

After a night filled with fear and anxiety, a tense calm continued this Thursday morning.

Despite the curfew, a limited number of people were seen on the streets. Those going out appeared to be doing so for urgent needs, heading toward various destinations. Between 7:00 and 8:00 am, the presence of police or law enforcement agencies on the streets was scarcely visible.

The NCP’s July rally triggered a series of incidents throughout Wednesday—attacks, vandalism, arson, and crude bomb explosions.

Members of the Bangladesh Awami League and the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League reportedly carried out the assaults.

In clashes between the attackers and law enforcement, four people were killed, and at least nine were shot with over 50 others sustaining injuries.

While visiting the area in the morning these correspondents found remnants of the unrest—scattered bricks, bamboo poles, and other makeshift roadblocks on the streets.

In several areas, trees had been cut down and thrown across roads to obstruct traffic. Moreover, arches over roads had been destroyed and left fallen on the streets, further obstructing movement.

At 7:00 am, a woman was seen trying to remove a rain tree that had fallen across the Dhaka-Khulna highway in front of the Gopalganj Eye Hospital, near the Ghona Para intersection.

The woman, Rozina Begum, said she saw the tree lying on the road during her morning walk and assumed someone had cut it down overnight. She sells peanuts and was cutting off a few branches for household use.

Except for a narrow passage, the entire road remained blocked by the fallen tree. Buses and other vehicles were moving through the small remaining passage.

From early morning, some three-wheelers like easy bikes, Mahindra vehicles, and vans were seen operating in Ghona Para.

Though fewer in number, these vehicles were transporting people to different destinations. However, local bus services remained suspended due to the curfew.

By 8:00 am, there was little sign of law enforcement activity. No checkpoints or law enforcement officers were seen at key city locations including Ghona Para, LGED intersection, Gopalganj General Hospital, court premises, launch terminal, kitchen market, and the Police Lines intersection.

Only a few village police officers and pourashava sanitation workers were seen in front of the Gopalganj Pourashava office.

By 8:30 am, most shops in the town remained closed. However, tea stalls and restaurants at various intersections had opened, drawing small crowds. In the kitchen market area, a few roadside fruit stalls had customers.

Meanwhile, due to the curfew, local bus services were suspended. Asgar Ali Sheikh, a transport worker from the Police Lines intersection area, told Prothom Alo, “Because of the curfew, there are hardly any people on the roads. That’s why local buses aren’t operating.”

He explained that local buses usually run on two routes from here - Gopalganj-Tekerhat and Gopalganj-Byashpur. Another route, Gopalganj-Kotalipara-Poisharhat, also remains suspended.

However, long-distance buses to Dhaka and other regions are running normally, he added.