Life in the capital Dhaka and elsewhere in the country was almost normal despite a nationwide hartal called by Jamaat-e-Islami, a day after the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division upheld the death penalty of their leader Mir Quasem Ali for his 1971 crimes against humanity.
Local sources said passenger buses in all routes alongside the private cars operated as usual while presence in offices and business establishments were normal in the capital and other major cities.
Banks and stock markets worked normally and authorities also kept open the schools while transport operators said ferry and trains services were operated as usual linking the capital with rest of the country.
Authorities earlier called out paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in aide of police and elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) during the hartal but no law and order situation was reported requiring their actions.
Jamaat called the dawn-to-dusk countrywide strike immediately after the apex court pronounced its verdict upholding Ali’s capital punishment originally handed down by the International Crimes Tribunal 16 months ago.
“BGB, RAB, armed police and plainclothesmen were kept alert with video and still cameras at different strategic points in the capital,” said deputy commissioner (DC) of Media Wing of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
The premier port city experienced a lackluster hartal yesterday as no untoward incident was reported.
Chittagong Metropolitan Police sources said around 1,500 additional policemen were deployed in the city.
The activists and leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami were not also seen to bring out any procession in support of the shutdown.
Debdas Bhattacharya, CMP additional commissioner, said no untoward incident was reported in the city during the hartal.
Meanwhile, Chittagong city unit of 14-party alliance led by Awami League held rallies in different places of the premier port city.
A good number of public transports as well as private vehicles were seen plying the city streets while the public buses and heavy vehicles on the long distance routes plied during the shutdown as usual.
However, the academic activities in the city’s educational institutes remained suspended.
Chittagong Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) authority sources said operational activities inside the CEPZ went on in full-swing and attendance of the workers was normal.
Chittagong Railway station sources said no disruption to rail communication was reported. Besides, the hartal did not affect the domestic and international flights at Chittagong Shah Amanat International Airport, Bangladesh Biman sources said.
Operational activities including loading and unloading of cargoes at ships inside Chittagong Port and outer anchorage went on in full-swing.
In Savar, two buses were set afire by unidentified miscreants at Shyamoli CNG Refueling Station in Baliarpur area of the upazila early Wednesday, hours before the Jamaat-e-Islami enforced hartal got underway.
