Chittagong Bureau :
The first day of fresh spell of 48-hour nonstop countrywide hartal,enforced by Jamaat-e-Islami, witnessed a poor response in port city and its adjacent district yesterday. .
Members of law enforcement agencies maintained a sharp security vigil in the port city and its adjacent districts during the hartal, police and eyewitness sources said.
Jamaat called for the strike in protest against its leader Mohammad Kamaruzzaman’s capital punishment being upheld by the Supreme Court (SC) and the sentencing of Mir Quasem Ali to death on charge of committing crimes against the humanity during the War of Liberation in 1971.
The 48- hour hartal of Jamaat, began at 6 am today (Wednesday) and will end at 6am on Friday. Metropolitan and District police control room sources said there was no report of any untoward incident from any part of the city and district during the Hartal hours.
Bakalia thana police arrested five Shibir activists including shibir leader Bahadur Rashid from the city’s Bakalia area while they were trying to vandalize vehicles from a sudden procession around 11 am today.
Police and witnesses said that there were hardly any picketing and procession by Jamaat activists during the shutdown.
A good number of motorized vehicles including CNG three wheelers were seen plying on the city streets while small number of buses and heavy vehicles on the long distance routes plied with police escort during the hartal.
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 Jamaat’s hartal totally failed as the people of Chittagong rejected it.
Law enforcement agencies maintained strict security vigil in the city and district during the hartal hours.
Apart from regular law enforces, additional members of police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) were deployed in Chittagong and some other parts of the district to maintain law and order during the hartal. 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. Abul Kalam Azad, Chittagong Station Manager of Bangladesh Railway told BSS that all scheduled trains to and from the port city left and arrived as per schedule.
All domestic and international flights at Chittagong Shah Amanat International Airport took off and landed according to schedule, Bangladesh Biman Station Manager Habibur Rahman told BSS.
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 Secretary Jaker Hossain told BSS.
The first day of fresh spell of 48-hour nonstop countrywide hartal,enforced by Jamaat-e-Islami, witnessed a poor response in port city and its adjacent district yesterday. .
Members of law enforcement agencies maintained a sharp security vigil in the port city and its adjacent districts during the hartal, police and eyewitness sources said.
Jamaat called for the strike in protest against its leader Mohammad Kamaruzzaman’s capital punishment being upheld by the Supreme Court (SC) and the sentencing of Mir Quasem Ali to death on charge of committing crimes against the humanity during the War of Liberation in 1971.
The 48- hour hartal of Jamaat, began at 6 am today (Wednesday) and will end at 6am on Friday. Metropolitan and District police control room sources said there was no report of any untoward incident from any part of the city and district during the Hartal hours.
Bakalia thana police arrested five Shibir activists including shibir leader Bahadur Rashid from the city’s Bakalia area while they were trying to vandalize vehicles from a sudden procession around 11 am today.
Police and witnesses said that there were hardly any picketing and procession by Jamaat activists during the shutdown.
A good number of motorized vehicles including CNG three wheelers were seen plying on the city streets while small number of buses and heavy vehicles on the long distance routes plied with police escort during the hartal.
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 Jamaat’s hartal totally failed as the people of Chittagong rejected it.
Law enforcement agencies maintained strict security vigil in the city and district during the hartal hours.
Apart from regular law enforces, additional members of police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) were deployed in Chittagong and some other parts of the district to maintain law and order during the hartal. 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. Abul Kalam Azad, Chittagong Station Manager of Bangladesh Railway told BSS that all scheduled trains to and from the port city left and arrived as per schedule.
All domestic and international flights at Chittagong Shah Amanat International Airport took off and landed according to schedule, Bangladesh Biman Station Manager Habibur Rahman told BSS.
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 Secretary Jaker Hossain told BSS.
