The 3rd day of the countrywide 72-hour hartal, enforced by BNP-led 20-party alliance, was almost ignored by people of Chittagong yesterday.
Members of the law enforcement agencies maintained a strong security vigil during the hartal period. BNP along with its alliance enforced the countrywide 72 hours hartal since Sunday morning. Chittagong Metropolitan and District police control room sources said there was no report of any untoward incident from any parts of the city and district during the Hartal hours.
Police and witnesses said that there were hardly any picketing and procession by the supporters during the shutdown.
Chittagong city and district police in a series of drives detained 21 activists of BNP-Jamaat-Shibir including Idris Alam, president of Bokshirhat ward Jubo Dal from various places of Pahartali than in the city and Mirsari, Sitakunda, Patiya and Lohagara Upazilas of the district on Monday night. Among the detainees, four were Jamaat activists, five Islami Chhatra Shibir activists and 12 BNP activists who were detained to prevent possible acts of sabotage during country-wide blockade and hartal enforced by BNP-led 20 party alliance, said Naimul Hasan, Additional Superintendent of Police (Special Branch) of Chittagong district.
Police and eye-witnesses said the hartal situation in the city and district was almost normal as a good number of vehicles mostly commuters’ services were seen plying on the city streets ignoring the hartal.
Besides, a good number of buses and heavy vehicles on the long distance routes plied with police escort during the hartal while most of the road side shops and markets were opened during the hartal today. Though academic activities in the educational institutions remained closed, attendance in the government and private offices was as usual.
Rickshaws and battery-run three-wheelers were dominating the city streets while presence of motorized vehicles was thin due to fear of possible vandalism and arson attack.
Bangladesh Awami League (AL) and its front organizations dominated almost all the city streets by holding rallies and bringing out processions.
Chittagong city unit President and former mayor A B M Mohiuddin Chowdhury addressed a series of way side rallies where he said the hartal totally failed as the people of Chittagong rejected it.
He also urged the people to identify the saboteurs and hand them over to the law enforcers.
Chittagong Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) authority sources said that operational activities inside the CEPZ went on in full swing and attendance of the workers was almost normal.
Chittagong Railway station sources said all scheduled trains to and from the port city left and arrived in some delayed.
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 the port and outer anchorage went on in full swing but transportation of export-import goods to and from the port jetty was hampered due to disruption in vehicular movements on the roads, port sources said.
