Dhaka residents remained tense on Thursday morning as public movement declined following the banned Awami League’s announcement of a “lockdown” program.
Public transport operated on a limited scale, with only a handful of passengers seen on most buses. Private vehicles were also notably scarce. Although educational institutions remained open, attendance was low.
A visit to several areas of the capital — including Gulistan, Paltan, Motijheel, Kakrail, Shahbagh, Farmgate, Science Lab and Karwan Bazar — revealed the same picture.
Roads were dominated mostly by autorickshaws.
To counter any subversive activity, eight political parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami and the NCP, which are campaigning for a referendum and five other demands, remained active on the ground.
Although the BNP was not directly participating, sources said the party was prepared to respond to any situation. Members of law enforcement agencies were deployed at key points across the city.
A guardian of a student from Government Laboratory School said he refrained from sending his child to school to avoid any untoward incident.
Azizul Haque Sujon, a relative of a patient at Bangladesh Medical, said: “I started from Uttara this morning with my ailing mother. Although we haven’t faced any trouble, a sense of apprehension lingers.”
The banned Awami League and its affiliated organizations declared the lockdown program on social media, coinciding with the date set for delivering the verdict against Sheikh Hasina by the International Crimes Tribunal.
Since then, party activists have been staging flash processions at various points in the capital, evading police patrols. Several incidents of crude bomb explosions have been reported, and at least ten buses were set on fire in recent days.
Isolated incidents have also occurred outside Dhaka, including in Fulbaria, Mymensingh, where one person died after a bus was torched.
Law enforcement agencies have held the Awami League responsible for these incidents, although party leaders have denied the allegations on social media.
