The BNP-led 18-party alliance enforces another daylong hartal across the
country today, demanding withdrawal of the cases against BNP Senior
Vice-chairman Tarique Rahman.
The fresh spell of strikes comes amid an unofficial ban on political meetings and rallies, and will cause fresh disruptions in economic and educational activities.
Unlike previous hartals, pre-hartal violence took place outside the capital yesterday.
Pickets vandalised at least 40 vehicles and torched five more and blasted around 30 crude bombs in Narayanganj, Kishoreganj, Feni, Faridpur and Bogra, report our district correspondents.
In the capital, at least six vehicles were set ablaze.
In Chashara of Narayanganj, activists of Jubo Dal, the pro-BNP youth wing, clashed with police in the afternoon, leaving at least five people injured.
In Chittagong, police cordoned the main opposition party’s city office at Nasimon Bhaban when party men tried to bring out a torch procession in support of today’s hartal.
BNP activists hurled four crude bombs when police tried to halt the procession, police said.
Police fired several teargas shells to disperse the BNP men, said Mohiuddin Selim, officer-in-charge of Kotwali Police Station. Two BNP activists were detained from the spot.
With today’s one, the BNP-Jamaat alliance would have enforced 30 countrywide daylong hartals in the last five months, in addition to a couple of dozens in different districts.
One study shows 15 days of these shutdown cost the economy $3 billion, the money that could finance the construction of Padma bridge. The costs do not take into account the killing of people and the damage done to public and private property.
According to another study, each day’s hartal causes a loss of around $200 million. The estimated annual average cost of hartals is between 3 percent and 4 percent of the country’s $110 billion gross domestic product (GDP).
The two studies were done by the UNDP and the International Chamber of Commerce Bangladesh.
The issue of Tarique Rahman, BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s elder son, came to the fore after a court on Saturday gave permission to the Anti-Corruption Commission to issue arrest warrant for him through the Interpol and bring him back to put on trial for “money laundering”.
BNP’s local units have already enforced daylong hartals on Sunday and Monday in nine districts protesting the court order.
This month, Jamaat has enforced two daylong hartals across the country while today’s is the fourth by the 18-party alliance.
The fresh spell of strikes comes amid an unofficial ban on political meetings and rallies, and will cause fresh disruptions in economic and educational activities.
Unlike previous hartals, pre-hartal violence took place outside the capital yesterday.
Pickets vandalised at least 40 vehicles and torched five more and blasted around 30 crude bombs in Narayanganj, Kishoreganj, Feni, Faridpur and Bogra, report our district correspondents.
In the capital, at least six vehicles were set ablaze.
In Chashara of Narayanganj, activists of Jubo Dal, the pro-BNP youth wing, clashed with police in the afternoon, leaving at least five people injured.
In Chittagong, police cordoned the main opposition party’s city office at Nasimon Bhaban when party men tried to bring out a torch procession in support of today’s hartal.
BNP activists hurled four crude bombs when police tried to halt the procession, police said.
Police fired several teargas shells to disperse the BNP men, said Mohiuddin Selim, officer-in-charge of Kotwali Police Station. Two BNP activists were detained from the spot.
With today’s one, the BNP-Jamaat alliance would have enforced 30 countrywide daylong hartals in the last five months, in addition to a couple of dozens in different districts.
One study shows 15 days of these shutdown cost the economy $3 billion, the money that could finance the construction of Padma bridge. The costs do not take into account the killing of people and the damage done to public and private property.
According to another study, each day’s hartal causes a loss of around $200 million. The estimated annual average cost of hartals is between 3 percent and 4 percent of the country’s $110 billion gross domestic product (GDP).
The two studies were done by the UNDP and the International Chamber of Commerce Bangladesh.
The issue of Tarique Rahman, BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s elder son, came to the fore after a court on Saturday gave permission to the Anti-Corruption Commission to issue arrest warrant for him through the Interpol and bring him back to put on trial for “money laundering”.
BNP’s local units have already enforced daylong hartals on Sunday and Monday in nine districts protesting the court order.
This month, Jamaat has enforced two daylong hartals across the country while today’s is the fourth by the 18-party alliance.
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