The third day of the 83-hour nationwide road-rail-waterway blockade, enforced by the BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance, passed off amid stray incidents of violence, including crude bomb blasts, vandalism and arsons, in different places across the country on Monday.
The blockade started at 6:00 am on Saturday and it will continue until 5:00pm on Tuesday.
The opposition combine enforced the blockade programme demanding that the government arrange the 10th general election under a non-party caretaker government and cancel the January-5 ‘farcical’ election.
In the capital, at least seven crude bombs were exploded in Dhaka University, Middle Badda and Kataban areas of the city in the morning.
A group of blockaders tried to bring out a procession in support of the blockade in Sadarghat area at about 5:50am. Police drove them away through a hot chase.
Later, they blasted 4-5 crude bombs in front of ‘Great One Centre’ of the area at that time.
Two crude bombs were exploded in the front of District and Sessions Judge’s Court in the city around 12:15pm.
Vehicular movement on the city streets was almost normal in the morning while law enforcers took position at the important points to fend off any untoward incident.
Besides, media vehicles, ambulances, vehicles of fire brigade and dead body-carrying vehicles will remain out of the ambit of the blockade programme.
However, vehicles on different highways were seen trying to ply as the government ensured police protection for smooth movement of long-route vehicles.
Incidents of vandalism, arson and clashes were reported from different districts, including, Sirajganj, Gazipur, Natore, Pabna and Sylhet districts.
In Mymensingh, miscreants blasted two crude bombs in front of the village house of Begum Raushan Ershad, health minister of the polls-time government and also a Jatiya Party presidium member, at Kachari Road in the district town on Sunday midnight.
However, no one was injured in the blasts.
In Sirajganj, blockaders torched 10 vehicles in different parts of the districts on Sunday night and early Monday during the opposition’s road-rail-waterway blockade.
In Pabna, blockaders vandalised a BRTC bus and 15 trucks at Dasuria Golchattar in Iswardi upazila on Iswardi-Pabna highway at noon while those were passing by the area under police escort.
At least 35 people were injured in separate clashes in Gazipur and Natore and Jhenidah districts.
In Sylhet, activists of Swechchhasebak Dal vandalised 10 vehicles and blasted 15 crude bombs at Darshandewri in the city around 8:00am.
Earlier, the second day of the blockade on Sunday was marked by arrests and stray incidents of violence in different parts of the country.
The opposition alliance has been on nonstop agitation programmes since the Election Commission announced the election schedule on November 25 fixing January 5 as the date of the next general election.
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: UNB Connect
