Staff Reporter :
The left parties’ half-day nationwide general strike protesting the power tariff hike ended peacefully on Thursday without any unwanted incident.
The Communist Party of Bangladesh, the Socialist Party of Bangladesh and the Democratic Left Alliance enforced the countrywide strike that began around 6:00am and ended at 2:00pm.
Law enforcers were deployed in major points of the city to avoid any unwanted trouble.
Police used scaring sound stimulators to disperse pro-hartal supporters so that they could not hold any rally in support with the general strike.
The activists of the left parties, however, marched with processions in different city streets amid police obstruction.
The law enforcers raided the Communist Party of Bangladesh headquarters at Mukti Bhaban in the city’s Purana Paltan area early in the morning and detained its 11 activists. They raided the third floor of the building and detained the activists of Garments Trade Union Centre, Chhatra Union and Juba Union, CPB leaders said.
At a brief rally in front of the National Press Club, CPB General Secretary Shah Alam termed the police act anti-democratic and said the law enforcers raided the building without any provocation and detained party activists.
The detainees, however, were released after three and a half hours.
Biplobi Workers Party General Secretary Saiful Haque told the rally that they would observe December 7 as the ‘protest day’ for raiding the CPB’s headquarters in the city and police harassment. Leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra Union said that police used harmful sound stimulators installed at armoured personnel carrier for at least 20 minutes when they attempted to organise a rally at Shahbagh intersection.
They said the sound stimulators were creating harmful noise for human health.
However, the DMP Ramna Division Deputy Commissioner Sarder Maruf Hossain said that the sound stimulators were at a tolerant level.
Amid police restriction, activists of left parties managed to take position at Shahbagh intersection that caused the traffic movement halt for an hour from 11:00am.
In Savar, activists of left-leaning student organizations blocked Dhaka-Aricha highway at Joy Bangla gate of the Jahangirnagar University for two hours.
In Gazipur, the movement of public transports in the city was normal but the number of private vehicles is less than the other days.
In Barisal, hartal supporters marched city streets with procession since morning.
In Gaibandha, at least 10 leaders and activists of the left parties got injured as police charged batons on the hartal supporters while dispersing them.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party has extended ‘full support’ to the strike.
The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission on November 23 once again increased the prices of electricity by 5.3 per cent on an average at consumers level with effect from December 1.
