Commuters suffer as transport crisis hits capital

Hundreds of city dwellers are reportedly facing sufferings as the presence of public transports on the roads has been very thin since the morning.

Hundreds of city dwellers are reportedly facing sufferings as the presence of public transports on the roads has been very thin since the morning due to Saturday’s do-or-die rallies called by the country’s arch political rivals – the ruling Awami League and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

The commuters, mostly working people, were seen waiting for public transports at various bus stoppages.

Jamaat-e-Islami and a host of other smaller opposition parties have also planned similar rallies for today.

Thousands of law enforcers – police, RAB and other agencies – have been deployed in the capital city to prevent any untoward incident during the rallies. 

Many are manning the check-posts set up in different parts of the city and its outskirts. Police were seen checking passengers on board buses bound for Dhaka. Entrances to the city are being manned by security forces.

The AL and the BNP have secured permissions from Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) to hold their protests at their respective venues. Jamaat, however, did not get any permission from DMP.

The BNP, Jamaat and other opposition groups demand that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina step down, dissolve the parliament and hand over power to a non-partisan administration to oversee the upcoming national election and make it free and fair.

BNP also demands an unconditional release of its ailing Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia.