The 2nd day of the 83-hour nationwide road-rail-waterway blockade, enforced by the BNP-led 18-party alliance demanding arrangement of the 10th general election under a non-party caretaker government, was marked by arrests and stray incidents of violence at different parts of the country on Sunday.
The fifth spell of the protest programme, which is also meant for forcing the government to cancel the January-5 ‘farcical’ election, started at 6am Saturday and it will continue until 5pm Tuesday.
According to reports reaching the UNB desk, around 200 people were arrested by the law enforcers, over 50 injured, several crude bombs blasted and some 16 vehicles were either vandalised or torched on the second day.
In the capital, blockaders exploded 12/14 crude bombs in Gabtali, Karwanbazar and Hatirjheel areas.
Opposition activists brought out a procession at Hatirjheel in the morning only to be dispersed by police.
A mobile court sentenced five activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir to different terms of imprisonment for attacking cops and exploding crude bombs in the city’s Shahjahanpur area.
Vehicular movement on the city streets was almost normal.
Incidents of arrests, crude bomb blasts, vandalism and arson were reported from different districts, including Laxmipur, Natore, Joypurhat, Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Comilla, Moulvibazar, Khulna, Chittagong, Chapainawabganj, Satkhira, Sirajganj, Barisal, Faridpur and Bogra.
In Joypurhat, the supporters of the blockade vandalised and torched the local Awami League office in Panchbibi upazila.
Besides, the local administration imposed Section 144 in the Panchbibi and Gabtali upazila of Bogra to maintain the law and order situation.
The opposition alliance has been on nonstop agitation programmes since the Election Commission announced the election schedule on November 25 fixing the balloting date for January 5.
The 18-party has already enforced 418 hours of road-rail-waterway blockade across the country in four spells –71-hour, 131-hour, 144-hour and 72-hour ones — after the announcement of the election schedule, that left at least 78 people dead.
Source: UNBConnect
