Leaders and activists of the BNP and its associate bodies are gathering in Rajshahi city on motorcycles amid transport strikes and other obstacles ahead of the party's mass rally.
Several fleets of motorcycles entered the venue from Friday morning.
A group of Bangladesh Chhatra Dal leaders and activists came to Rajshahi from Naogaon on Friday with a motorcade. Besides, a huge motorcycle fleet from Bogra arrived in the evening.
Around a few hundred motorcycles were seen in each fleet.
However, they claimed that the police blocked the road and tried to turn the motorcycles back from the middle of the road for search purposes.
The Rajshahi Divisional Transport Owners Association called a transport strike from Thursday morning with a 10-point demand, including stopping illegal three-wheelers on the highway.
The BNP leaders alleged that the strike had been called to interrupt the mass rally in Rajshahi on Saturday.
Now to stop the leaders and activists from reaching Rajshahi, they are trying to block the way by setting up checkpoints on the empty highway.
But transport leaders said that the strike has been called as part of their ongoing protest. It has no connection with BNP's rally.
Dhaka TribuneLeaders of Bogra District Chhatra Dal and Juba Dal complained that they left Bogra with a fleet of motorcycles at around 10am on Friday.
Police intercepted the fleet in front of Charmatha Century Motel in Bogra town. At first, as they did not want to stop and police beat some of the drivers. Six-seven motorcycles were also vandalized. Besides, several motorcycles were also seized.
General Secretary of Bogra district unit Chhatra Dal Noor-e Alam Siddiqi, who led the motorcycle fleet, said that 1,800 motorcycles were supposed to join the fleet. But the district police, traffic police and intelligence police at Charmatha had already taken position to stop the fleet.
Leaders and activists have also taken a strategy to reach Rajshahi by taking an alternative route through rural roads.
Mizanur Rahman Minu, advisor of BNP chairperson, said that lakhs of activists have already entered the city of Rajshahi defying police barricades.
According to sources, special police checkposts have been set up at Puthia, Belpukur, Katakhali and Talaimari on the Rajshahi-Natore highway, Mohanpur, Nowhata and Naodapara on the Rajshahi-Naogaon highway and Godagari and Kashiadanga intersections on the Rajshahi-Chapainawabganj highway.
Rajshahi Metropolitan Police spokesperson and Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Rafiqul Alam said that there are regular check posts at the entrances of the city. Surveillance and searches have been increased to avoid any untoward incident around the BNP rally.
However, he said that the allegations of harassment and turning people away from Rajshahi are not correct.
The police officer said that police are on alert so that no one can do anything violent centering the rally.
Dhaka TribuneThree-layer security arrangements have been made centering the rally. Besides, 17 police checkposts have been set up at key entry points in the city.
There are officers in plainclothes in the field, as well as members of the intelligence branch.
Meanwhile, CC cameras have been installed in the madrasa ground to keep a constant watch on the gathering. The field is being monitored through this camera from the cybercrime unit of the city police.
BNP on September 27 announced a series of public rallies in 10 divisions and major cities. The party began the rallies by holding the first one in Chittagong on October 12.
Transport owners and workers called strikes ahead of all the rallies in various cities, except in Chittagong and Comilla.
BNP says it will conclude its divisional rallies through a mass gathering in Dhaka city on December 10.
