Violence in B’desh opposition’s stir
19 March 2013 6:09 AM IST
Some 100 vehicles across Bangladesh were smashed or set on fire in the early hours of a non-stop 48 hour strike Monday demanding release of opposition activists detained in a police raid on their party headquarters.
In capital Dhaka and elsewhere in the South Asian country, where ‘hartal’ has become a very common form of protest in the recent months, scores of cocktail and handmade bombs were exploded, leaving dozens of people including law enforcers injured.
Riot police shot rubber bullets and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse stone throwing pro-hartal activists who attempted to block roads and bring out procession along the major city streets, disrupting traffic. Police detained dozens of opposition activists.
The hartal crippled normal life and business transactions to large extent with many main markets and educational institutions closed.
Over 1,000 trucks laden with cargo meant for ready-made garment export items were stranded on their way to Chittagong seaport, some 242 km southeast of capital Dhaka, a TV channel reported. Private cars were hardly seen on Dhaka roads but a large number of rickshaws appeared in the usually bustling streets along with public transport.
At least 20 vehicles were also reportedly set on fire and 40 damaged fully or partially across Bangladesh in pre-hartal violence on Sunday.
In capital Dhaka and elsewhere in the South Asian country, where ‘hartal’ has become a very common form of protest in the recent months, scores of cocktail and handmade bombs were exploded, leaving dozens of people including law enforcers injured.
Riot police shot rubber bullets and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse stone throwing pro-hartal activists who attempted to block roads and bring out procession along the major city streets, disrupting traffic. Police detained dozens of opposition activists.
The hartal crippled normal life and business transactions to large extent with many main markets and educational institutions closed.
Over 1,000 trucks laden with cargo meant for ready-made garment export items were stranded on their way to Chittagong seaport, some 242 km southeast of capital Dhaka, a TV channel reported. Private cars were hardly seen on Dhaka roads but a large number of rickshaws appeared in the usually bustling streets along with public transport.
At least 20 vehicles were also reportedly set on fire and 40 damaged fully or partially across Bangladesh in pre-hartal violence on Sunday.
Next Story
