Hartal makes little impact on city life

With people hitting the city streets in large numbers over the past few days, the impact of continuous spells of hartals and an indefinite blockade seems to have largely waned.

Almost all businesses, offices and roadside shops were open and a large number of motorised vehicles plied the Dhaka streets on the second day of the 72-hour hartal, called by the BNP-led 20-party alliance, on top of the blockade that passed its 63rd day yesterday.

However, a few incidents of arson attacks and crude bomb explosions were reported from different parts of the country. Besides, arrest of BNP and Jamaat activists and recovery of explosives continued in some districts.

In Barguna, pickets allegedly set fire to a pick-up van of Barguna Agro Service Centre, a unit of Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation, in the district town early yesterday.

The arson attack happened when the employee guarding the Agro Service Centre office went to sleep around 3:00am, said Sonjoy Ranjon Howlader, deputy assistant director of the centre, adding that the van was kept in the garage store.

In Chandpur, alleged pickets torched a pick-up van in the Truck road area of the town around 2:00am.

Driver of the van, Abdus Sobhan, said he parked the vehicle in front of his house. As he went inside, it was set on fire within a few minutes.

In Gaibandha, police recovered four crude bombs from the main gate of Ahmeduddin Shah Sishu Niketon, a kindergarten school, in the district town early yesterday. The recovery created panic among the guardians barring them from sending their kids to school.

In Jamalpur, Detective Branch of Police recovered a locally made pistol, a pipe gun and five bullets from the home of a Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal leader in Madarganj upazila.

Shubhra Shaha, assistant sub-inspector of Jamalpur DB, said they raided the house of JCD leader Mukhlesur Rahman following his statement and made the recovery around 3:30am.

A pro-BNP lawyer was arrested from Bagerhat yesterday. Police said lawyer Qazi Shahidullah was arrested from Khardar area of the district town for his alleged involvement in an attack on the cops on Sunday midnight.

In Bogra, police in overnight raids arrested nine people accused in different cases including arson and vandalism.

In Chittagong, police caught red-handed two BNP activists when they were attempting to hurl petrol bombs in the port city's Pahartali area on Sunday night. A case was filed in this connection.

Police also arrested seven BNP men and a Shibir activist from Chandpur, four BNP-Jamaat men from Narayanganj, five men including a Khelafat Majlish leader from Khulna on charges of involvement in subversive activities.

Meanwhile, locals of Akkelpur upazila in Joypurhat caught Jamaat-e-Islami ameer SM Rashedul Alam, who was on the run, and handed him over to police.

Two cops were injured as criminals hurled crude bombs in the city's Paltan intersection around 7:00pm.

The injured policemen Abdul Mannan Azad and Amrito Pal were admitted to Central Police Hospital at Rajarbagh, said Rajib Kumar Sarkar, sub-inspector of Paltan Police Station.

Alleged pickets torched two buses at Mirpur and Gulistan in Dhaka yesterday evening, a source at Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters told The Daily Star.

No one was hurt in the arson attack. Fire fighters doused the flames of both the buses later, the source added.

In Comilla, two covered-vans were set afire near Comilla Cantonment around 12:30am, fire service officials said.