No gathering of shutdown supporters seen, light traffic on roads

A daylong shutdown enforced by the BNP-led 20-Party Alliance in Gazipur is progressing peacefully.

No gathering was seen within the first three hours of the strike on Saturday. A few buses, rickshaws, and vans were, however, seen on the roads.

Meanwhile, police have been deployed at the Bhawal Badre Alam Government College ground. The on-duty police personnel said no one would be allowed to hold a rally there.

The 20-Party Alliance called the strike in protest against the local administration's ban on gatherings at BNP chief Khaleda Zia's proposed rally venue and the rest of Gazipur.

The district administration imposed Section 144 at the college ground and surrounding areas amid tension after ruling Awami League's student front, the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), said it would thwart Khaleda's rally on Saturday.

The BNP announced the daylong strike at a press conference in the party's Naya Paltan office on Friday.

No processions or picketing were seen in Gazipur and Tongi in the cold winter morning.

Tongi Police Station OC Kazi Ismail Hossain said forces had been deployed in various parts of the city to prevent any act of sabotage or untoward incidents.

Long distances buses were not seen on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway that passes through Gazipur district. But buses were running between Dhaka and Gazipur.

Factories, business houses, and shops were opening as the day rolled on.

The BNP alleged that the government had engineered a situation to foil Khaleda's rally.

Earlier, on Friday night, the BNP’s Tongi office had been set on fire.