BNP’s nationwide hartal underway, police deployed in Naya Paltan

A dawn-to-dusk shutdown (hartal) enforced by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is underway across the country on Sunday.

BNP called the hartal ‘protesting the police attacks’ on its grand rally in the capital’s Naya Paltan on Saturday.

Meanwhile, police were deployed in front of the BNP’s central office in Naya Paltan in the morning. Police were seen cordoning off a side of the BNP office.

Movement of public transport and cars was thin in the capital’s Panthpath, Mohammadpur, Green Road, Karwan Bazar, Agargaon, Fakirapool areas in the morning, but rickshaws and CNG-run auto- rickshaws were seen plying on the streets.

Police were also seen in Panthpath intersection, SAARC Fountain, Fakirapool, Rajarbagh, Kakrail areas in the morning

Ganatantra Manch, Gono Odhikar Parishad and other parties that joined BNP in its simultaneous movement have backed the hartal.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami also called a dawn-to-dusk hartal for Sunday.

The party’s acting secretary general Maulana ATM Masum announced the shutdown in a statement on Saturday evening.

The hartal was announced demanding the resignation of the government, holding the election under a neutral caretaker government, protesting against the attack of Awami League and police on BNP’s grand rally and arrest of party leaders including ameer Shafiqur Rahman and those who were arrested while coming to Dhaka to join today’s rally, the statement said.

Amid the sporadic violence, the government deployed 11 platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in Dhaka on Saturday night to maintain public safety.

BGB headquarters public relations officer Shariful Islam confirmed the matter to Prothom Alo.

He said a platoon of BGB has been deployed in Ramna, two each in Motejheel, Paltan and the Secretariat and four platoons in front of the chief justice’s residence in Kakrail.

In the meantime, Dhaka Road Transport Owner Association said in a press release on Saturday night that movement of buses and minibuses would continue in Dhaka city, district towns and on inter-district routes.

Transport owners and workers would never respond to this shutdown, which is “against the public interest”. Police and administration were requested to strengthen security in the strategic points of the cities so that no barriers arise on the movement of vehicles during the hartal , the statement read.