Staff Reporter :At least seven trucks loaded with dump, mud, wood, bricks and sand were again kept around the BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office in the city on Sunday. The trucks were brought on the two crossings of the Road No-86, where the office is located, at noon. Four trucks were positioned in the southern part of the office, while three others in the northern part. A police truck and a water- cannon were also kept in front of the office. Drivers and helpers of the trucks said that they have come from different areas of the city, including Badda and Abdullahpur. Driver of a mud-laden truck Shajahan said that he was going to the city’s cantonment area from Abdullahpur. But, he came in Gulshan following the direction. He was instructed to stay here the whole day, he added.Earlier, at least 13 trucks loaded with sand, brick and stone were positioned on both sides of the Gulshan office. But those trucks were removed later.Meanwhile, deployment of security forces in the BNP Gulshan office was also increased. Women police members took position in front of the main gate of the office, while armed police members took position on both sides the office. The police regulated traffic movement in the area. Only the residents of the area are allowed to criss-cross the road. Police said that the security measures were heightened again on information that BNP leaders and activists, who joined the Bishwa Ijtema, were likely to move towards the BNP Chairperson’s office to free her. Khaleda Zia has been kept confined to the office since the night of January 3. She passed ninth day in the office on Sunday. However, the main gate of the office is not locked up, but no one can enter without the police’s permission. A delegation of BNP’s woman leaders entered the office at noon. Former woman MPs Shammi Akhter and Helen Zerin Khan were among the leaders. They joined Akheri Munajat of Bishwa Ijtema with Khaleda in the office. After coming out of the office, Shammi Akhter told reporters that Khaleda Zia is committed to continue the ongoing movement until the demand is met. She urged countrymen to forge a strong resistance against the government through succeeding the blockade programme, Shammi Akter added. Later, BNP standing committee members Lt Gen (Retd) Mahbubur Rahman, Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar and Barrister Rafiqul Islam Miah also visited the Gulshan office in the evening. After coming out of the office, Barrister Rafiqul Islam Miah said that the government should take initiative of holding talks. Otherwise, Khaleda Zia will not stop the movement. On the other hand, BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed, who is now current spokesperson of the party, at a press conference at a Gulshan residence on Sunday reiterated that the on-going blockade won’t be stopped until their demand is met. In reaction to Awami League leaders’ criticism that the 20-party was continuing the blockade daring the Bishwa Ijtema, he said, “Who deleted the name of the Almighty Allah from the Constitution and killed a number of alem-ulamas attacking the rally of Hefazat-e-Islam. Their statement in favour of religious values is nothing but hypocrisy. AL leaders are cheating with the countrymen.” He also reacted to the statement of FBCCI President Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed that the trade body would seek legal remedy to get rid of destructive programmes like hartal and blockade. Rizvi said that the FBCCI President spoke following the direction of a particularly quarter. Why he did not utter against the killing and abduction by the present government? he asked. Meanwhile, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), the student wing of the BNP, called a daylong hartal in Dhaka and 13 other outskirt districts for today (Monday) protesting besieging Khaleda Zia and keeping trucks again around her office. The JCD announced the shutdown programme on Sunday in a press release signed by its assistant office secretary Abdus Sattar Patwary. Besides Dhaka, the districts, where the hartal will be enforced, are Narayanganj, Gazipur, Manikganj, Narsingdi, Comilla, Brahmanbaria, Munshiganj, Kishoreganj, Tangail, Mymensingh, Sherpur, Jamalpur and Netrakona districts.JCD President Rajib Ahsan and General Secretary Akramul Hasan urged the leaders and activists to make the shutdown a success.
