Three coaches and the engine of the ‘Padmarag Express’ veered off the tracks in Gaibandha district after activists removed fish-plates from rail tracks in Bonarpara, railway spokesperson said.
Five passengers, rescued from one of the derailed coaches, were in serious condition while 45 others suffered minor injuries, the BD24News website reported.
The accident occurred on the fifth day of a 131-hour countrywide blockade of rail, roads and waterways called by the BNP-led 18-party alliance.
Meanwhile, rail communications between capital Dhaka and Khulna came to a halt as a passenger train derailed in Khulna due to similar sabotage.
At least ten passengers were injured as five compartments of Khulna-bound ‘Nakshikantha Express’ derailed after blockade supporters removed fish-plates near Bejerdanga Rail Station.
Train service between Chandpur and the port-city Chittagong were also halted as three compartments of Intercity Meghna Express veered off the tracks between Shahtoli and Madhuroad.
HASINA UNFAZED BY VIOLENCE
Unfazed by boycott threats from the opposition, an alliance led by the ruling Awami League has decided to go ahead with the January 5, 2013 general elections in Bangladesh.
‘The election must be held and the constitutional process will have to be continued,’ a senior Awami League leader quoted Premier Sheikh Hasina as saying at a late night meeting of the alliance.
Ms. Hasina told the meeting that the polls be held on schedule ‘whether anyone participates or not’.
She, however, added that if the polls were not held under any circumstances, ‘the government would follow the Constitution’, the Daily Star newspaper reported.
Her comments came as main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) stayed off the polls while ruling alliance’s crucial partner Jatiya Party of former military ruler H.M. Ershad on Tuesday said it too decided to back off due to lack of ‘proper atmosphere’.
Five passengers, rescued from one of the derailed coaches, were in serious condition while 45 others suffered minor injuries, the BD24News website reported.
The accident occurred on the fifth day of a 131-hour countrywide blockade of rail, roads and waterways called by the BNP-led 18-party alliance.
Meanwhile, rail communications between capital Dhaka and Khulna came to a halt as a passenger train derailed in Khulna due to similar sabotage.
At least ten passengers were injured as five compartments of Khulna-bound ‘Nakshikantha Express’ derailed after blockade supporters removed fish-plates near Bejerdanga Rail Station.
Train service between Chandpur and the port-city Chittagong were also halted as three compartments of Intercity Meghna Express veered off the tracks between Shahtoli and Madhuroad.
HASINA UNFAZED BY VIOLENCE
Unfazed by boycott threats from the opposition, an alliance led by the ruling Awami League has decided to go ahead with the January 5, 2013 general elections in Bangladesh.
‘The election must be held and the constitutional process will have to be continued,’ a senior Awami League leader quoted Premier Sheikh Hasina as saying at a late night meeting of the alliance.
Ms. Hasina told the meeting that the polls be held on schedule ‘whether anyone participates or not’.
She, however, added that if the polls were not held under any circumstances, ‘the government would follow the Constitution’, the Daily Star newspaper reported.
Her comments came as main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) stayed off the polls while ruling alliance’s crucial partner Jatiya Party of former military ruler H.M. Ershad on Tuesday said it too decided to back off due to lack of ‘proper atmosphere’.