5 buses torched on first day of fourth round blockade
76 transports have been torched since 28 Oct
At least five buses were set on fire across the country on the first day of the fourth round of the 48-hour blockade enforced by the BNP-Jamaat and like-minded parties.
According to the fire services department, there were a total of nine fire incidents from 8pm on Saturday to 6am on Sunday in Dhaka city, Gazipur, Narayanganj, and Barishal.
Five more buses were set ablaze since the blockade commenced at 6am. The first incident occurred at 1:10pm in the capital's Mirpur 10 area, the second in Narayanganj at around 6:37pm, the third in the capital's Tejgaon at 8:20pm, the fourth incident was reported in Savar around 9pm and the fifth incident took place in Mohammadpur area around 10pm.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Since 28 October, 76 transports have been set on fire across the country, according to the media cell of the fire service.
Meanwhile, BNP senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi claimed the death of one partyman and over 365 BNP arrests in different parts of the country in the last 24 hours as of 5pm on Sunday.
He alleged, "Last Saturday, in the Gauripur Upazila of Mymensingh district, the joint convener of Upazila Swecchasebak Dal Md Swapan died. After being chased by the DB police, he jumped into the pond and died from electrocution."
The BNP leader claimed that 13 BNP men were killed and 12,000 arrested centring on BNP's October 28 rally and subsequent hartal and blockade programmes.
The BNP's movement partner, Jamaat-e-Islami, also asserted that three of its activists were killed and 2,000 have been arrested since 28 October. In the last 24 hours, 64 activists were across the country, the party said.
The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), meanwhile, arrested Chapainawabganj Chhatra Dal President Md Yusuf Ali and Feni Jubo Dal President Jakir Hossain Jasim in a case filed over the killing of police constable Amirul Haque Parvez.
Amirul Haque Parvez died from his injuries during the clash with BNP men at the Fakirapool intersection in the capital on October 28 during the clashes that erupted following the political rallies in the capital.
Since on Sunday morning, various types of vehicles, including buses, minibuses, and private cars have been observed on the streets of Dhaka.
However, the traffic is notably lighter than usual with fewer passengers. Due to the limited number of passengers, many long-distance buses did not depart from Dhaka.
BNP's procession march
Rizvi also led a procession march in the capital on Sunday. The procession march started from Motijheel Ideal School at around 7am.
Moving towards the Motijheel intersection with the procession, BNP leaders and activists blocked the adjacent roads.
Chhatra Dal brought another procession in Sowari Ghat on the banks of the Buriganga river in the capital early in morning. The blockade was led by Chhatra Dal Joint General Secretary Dr Touhidur Rahman Awal.
BNP's student organisation Chhatra Dal said they received reports of processions in at least seven places in Dhaka. Jamaat also marched in at least 14 locations in the city.
Rizvi praises Islamic Andolon
Viewing positively the Islamic Andolon's message of not accepting any election schedule without political consensus of all, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Sunday called on other Islamic parties to do the same.
"We hope that their decision will contribute to the ongoing momentum of the movement. Additionally, we expect other Islamic parties to join our fair and democratic movement and aspire to march on the path of democracy," he said.
Earlier on Sunday, the Islami Andolan Bangladesh warned that it would launch a mass procession towards the Election Commission building in Dhaka if the election schedule was announced without first reaching a political consensus on the matter.
Rizvi also alleged the government is destroying the readymade garments (RMG) sector in Bangladesh as part of a plot to shift the business to another country.
"The government is very cleverly implementing a blue-print of destroying the garment industry, the country's largest sector for earning foreign currency. She (Sheikh Hasina) wants to create famine again like in 1974, and wants to destroy the country's economy," the BNP leader said.
He also alleged that 150 garment factories were indefinitely shut on Saturday by the owners at the instigation of the government.
The BNP leader bemoaned that police who attacked the RMG workers filed cases accusing 11,000 RMG workers of staging demonstrations for their justified demands.
