Blockade, hartal underway without major incidents

The non-stop rail-road-waterway blockade’s 21st day coupled with a 36-hour general strike across the country enforced by Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance was passing without any major incidents on Monday. In the capital, the number of commuter buses was increasing with the passage of time although commuters are haunted by arson and bomb attack fears. Rickshaws and CNG-run auto-rickshaws dominated the city roads. Additional policemen were deployed in the key points of the city. In Khulna, the pro-hartal supporters brought out a procession at PTI intersection at around 9:30am. They vandalised three three-wheeler vehicle and blasted two crude bombs. Police dispersed them by chasing away. Police and Border Guard Bangladesh were patrolling the city streets. No long-route bus moved from the district while the trains were running falling behind schedule, our correspondent reported. BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia announced the indefinite blockade on January 5 as the government did not allow her party to hold a protest rally in the capital. The BNP-led coalition on Saturday called the 36-hour hartal that began on Sunday protesting the arrest of its leaders and activists, ‘acts of sabotage plotted by the government’ and move to increase power tariff.

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