The third spell of the countrywide blockade imposed by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party began on Wednesday, leaving the capital Dhaka all but disconnected from the rest of the country with very few transports on highways.
On the first day of the fresh 48-hour blockade, a good number of public transports were seen operating on the streets in Dhaka, but the numbers of passengers were low compared to regular days.
Fire Service and Civil Defense said that miscreants set fire to a bus of Akash Paribahan at Tantibazar crossing in old Dhaka around 7:30pm and a minibus in front of Kakoli police outpost Banani around 8:00pm.
The presence of people in most of the private and government offices increased compared to the previous 48-hour blockade of the BNP.
However, like the previous two phases of the blockade, almost all inter-district buses stayed off the streets due to a lack of passengers.
Most inter-district buses were seen parked near terminals with transport works passing idle time. Ticket counters on most buses were closed.
Despite instruction from high-ups in the government to operate buses even with low numbers of passengers and assurance of ensuring safety, the operation of long-route buses remained almost suspended due to shortage of passengers.
The few inter-district buses that left Sayedabad and Moakhali terminals had two-thirds of their seats vacant.
Shariful Islam, one of the ticket sellers of Star Line Paribahan at Sayedabad, said that they failed to run any bus till 1:30pm due to a lack of passengers.
‘We are trying to operate a Lakshmipur-bound bus but failed to run till 1:00pm as the passengers were not coming to the terminal fearing arson,’ said Ali Ahmed, ticket seller at Al-Arafah Paribahan.
The inter-district bus services at the capital’s Gabtoli bus terminal remain completely suspended due to the passenger crisis.
Most of the counters at the Gabtoli terminal were closed. Only a few counters were open, but they could not operate any buses due to the scarcity of passengers.
‘We opened the counter at 7:00am, but only three passengers took tickets until 12:30pm. We need at least 25–30 passengers to operate a bus,’ said Masud Rana, a ticket seller at the Satkhira Express counter.
Some launches operated from the Sadarghat terminal amid the blockade but with fewer passengers.
‘Scheduled operation of five launches was cancelled on Wednesday morning due to a lack of passengers,’ said ABS Mahmud, traffic inspector of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority.
All trains, however, ran on schedule, said Masud Sarwar, station master of Kamalapur Railway Station.
The presence of students at educational institutions that were open witnessed an increased number of students.
Most of the shops and markets in Dhaka were also open, though the number of customers was low.
A good number of members of law enforcement agencies were seen patrolling on roads, in and around bus terminals, and on highways.
BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said at a virtual press conference that they were ready to make any kind of sacrifice to restore democracy in the country.
‘Our address is either prison or street. We have nothing in between. You can be taken to jail, and you can hurt us in many ways and torture us, but our march will continue to bring back democracy.’
He said that BNP leaders and activists have taken to the streets to overcome all obstacles and bring back democracy.
Rizvi said that in the past 24 hours, more than 515 leaders and activists were arrested across the country, including the capital.
He alleged that BNP activist Md Riaz was beaten to death in Magura by the ruling Awami League people on Tuesday night.
The Awami League is even making comments against the United Nations and foreign diplomats in highly disrespectful manners, he said.
New Age correspondents from various districts reported that opposition activists brought out processions at different parts of the country’s highways to press home their demands.
New Age
