Day 2 of the non-stop countrywide 84 hours hartal, enforced by opposition BNP-led 18 party alliance, passed off peacefully in metropolitan cities on Monday.
In Chittagong, strike supporters hurled hundreds of handmade bombs in different areas of the port city, including Chawkbazar, Mehedibag, Halishahar, Pahartali, Khulshi, Patenga, Bahadderhat, Bakalia and Khalurghat.
Hartal supporters set fire to four goods-laden covered vans in Bottol area under Sitakundu upazila on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway around 11am, reports BSS.
The strikers also lobbed a homemade bomb at a police van carrying Chittagong District Additional Superintendent of Police M Shahidullah and Officer-in-Charge of Sitakunda police station Bodiuzzaman in Chittagong during the morning.
However, none were injured in the attack.
Officer-in-charge of Kotwali police station AKM Mahiuddin Selim said Shibir supporters hurled six to seven handmade bombs targeting police patrols at different areas.
Police detained eight pickets from different areas.
Hartal supporters also damaged a CNG-run three-wheeler at the Bahaddarhat area, two CNG-run three-wheelers at Patenga crossing, one at Agrabad Excess road, two at the Shah Amanat bridge area, one CNG-run Taxi at Rahattarpool and another CNG-run three-wheeler at the Pahartali area during the hartal, police said.
Apart from the afore mentioned incidents, the overall situation in the city was peaceful.
Huge rickshaws, CNG-run auto-rickshaws and human haulers were seen plying city the streets.
The long distance and inter-district buses, however, stayed off the roads.
Several law enforcers including Border Guard Bangladesh, Rapid Action Battalion were seen carrying out different operational activities inside the CEPZ, where day to day activities were being carried out in full swing and workers attendance was almost normal.
All scheduled trains to and from the port city left and arrived as per their schedules, said railway sources.
All domestic and international flights at Chittagong Shah Amanat International Airport took off and landed according to schedule, Nazrul Islam, chief security officer of the airport said,
Operational activities including loading and unloading of cargo at 23 ships inside the port and outer anchorage went on without a hitch, however, the transportation of export-import goods to and from the port jetty was hampered due to disruption in vehicular movement on roads, said Port Secretary Syed Farhad Uddin.
Our Barisal correspondent reports: the second day of hartal passed off amid stray incidents in Barisal.
Hartal supporters vandalised a truck belonging to the Barisal City Corporation at the College Avenue crossing and a three-wheeler at the Sagordi area of the city in the morning.
Hartal supporters blocked different roads using logs and detonated cocktails in different parts of the city. Police arrested 12 pickets from different parts of the city.
A procession led by Advocate Mojibor Rahman Sarwar, lawmaker, divisional 18-party alliance coordinator, central organising secretary, city unit president of BNP, was brought out from the Nazirer Pole area in the morning.
Meanwhile, an anti-hartal rally addressed by city Awami League President Shawkat Hossain Hiron, Secretary Afzal Hossain, city Jubo League Convener Nizamuddin was held in front of party office at Sohel Square.
The number of rickshaws and motorized three-wheelers was less than normal on city roads.
Attendances in public, private offices and banks were also as usual. However, classes in different schools, colleges and universities were not being held during the hartal.
Police along with other members of law enforcing agencies were deployed at key points of the city.
In Sylhet, BNP brought out a procession in support of the hartal in the city around 8 am.
In Rajshahi, pro-hartal activists clashed with law-enforces at different places during the hartal hours in the metropolis.
Police sources said BNP supporters brought out a procession and staged a demonstration by burning car tires around 12 noon at the Sonadighi crossing. Police stopped the demonstrators and lobbed teargas shells when the clashes erupted.
Later, they fired rubber bullets to disperse the picketers, who retaliated by hurling brickbats at the law enforcers. Soon, the clashes spread to the Rajarhata and Hetemkha areas.
BNP activists threw stones targeting a BGB vehicle at the Shalbagan area that provoked police to lob teargas canisters and fire blanks, said Ziaur Rahman Zia, Officer-in-Charge of Boalia Model Police Station.
Some other pro-hartal outfits staged demonstrations by burning car tires at the Kasiadanga crossing. However, they fled when police appeared.
Meanwhile, law enforcers arrested five pro-hartal BNP activists from different areas.
In Rangpur, led by Convener of Rangpur district unit of BNP Mozaffar Hossain, hundreds of leaders and activists of BNP and its front organisations repeatedly brought out processions in the city streets on Tuesday.
Besides, many pro-hartal Jamaat-Shibir leaders and activists brought out sporadic processions in the city and other areas, set fire to car tires on the roads, attacked and torched several auto rickshaws, rickshaws and motorcycles and barricaded roads.
Common life remained partially affected during the second day’s hartal though rickshaws, auto-bikes, bicycles, motorcycles etc plied normally on the streets. Long route buses, trucks and heavy vehicles have been staying off the roads and highways.
Activities at the government offices, business establishments, and financial and educational institutions were almost normal while the civilians carried out their daily tasks.
