BartaBangla Desk :: The first day of 2-day dawn-to-dusk hartal, called by opposition BNP-led 18-party alliance, is underway across the country on Wednesday.
Sufficient numbers of law enforcers have been deployed at different points of the capital to avert untoward situation.
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel were deployed in the city from around 8:00pm Tuesday to prevent subversive activities ahead of the 2-day dawn-to-dusk hartal.
The BGB men have taken position at different sensitive points of the city including Baridhara Diplomatic area, Sangshad Bhaban, secretariat, Progati Sarani, Farmgate and Uttara.
Hartal violence:
Hartal supporters blasted few cocktails in capital’s Laxmibazar, Shyamoli and Mirpur. They also vandalized a bus in Jatrabari and a road side shop in Old Dhaka and police fired three rubber bullets to disperse the picketers.
In Gazipur, picketers torched a bus during hartal hours.
In Satkhira, hartal supporters vandalized seven vehicles and set fire on tires. Later police dispersed them from there.
In Bogra, Chhatra Shibir activists hurled three cocktails aiming police when they were obstructed.
In Rajshahi, metropolitan BNP led-by joint secretary general Mizanur Rahman Minu brought out a pro-hartal procession from Kadirganj intersection.
Being obstructed by police, they took position streets and held a short rally. Later, the hartal supported dispersed when police fired some round of blank shot.
Around 50 picketers were held from different parts of the country during hartal hours.
Besides, the daylong shutdown is progressing in Mymensingh, Sirajganj, Joypurhat, Pabna amid stray incidents of picketing.
Pre-hartal Violence:
A bus was torched in Tejgaon area in the capital on Tuesday afternoon ahead of dawn-to-dusk hartal on Wednesday and Thursday (May 8, 9).
Witnesses said some miscreants torched a bus standing in Tejgaon Colony Bazar area around 3:00pm and left the scene instantly.
In another incident in Nayapaltan, some BNP activists torched a microbus in the afternoon.
On Monday, the alliance called countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal for Wednesday and Thursday (May 8, 9) in protest against killing common people and demanding restoration of caretaker government.
Hefajat-e-Islam lent its support to 18-party’s hartal.