Despite transport strike and other obstacles, Sylhet Govt Alia Madrasa field is teeming with several thousand leaders and activists of BNP and its associate bodies on Saturday.
The city wore a festive look with posters, banners and billboards and processions as hundreds of BNP leaders and activists from different districts under the Sylhet division have already reached the city, to join the rally.
Party leaders and activists have erected a stage on the Alia Madrasa field where the rally is scheduled to begin at 2pm. Local leaders said the rally may begin before the scheduled time like previous rallies in different divisions.
Thousands of leaders and activists of BNP and its associate bodies from four districts — Sunamganj, Moulvibazar, Habiganj and Sylhet — under the division have already reached the city in advance to join the rally.
Visiting Sylhet Govt Alia Madrasa at night, this UNB Correspondent found BNP leaders and activists at the temporary camps set up outside the venue.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir reached Sylhet around 10 pm last night.
A medical camp, organised by Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB), was also set up at the north side of the venue.
Also read: BNP rally in Sylhet: Police set up check-posts at 19 points
Law enforcers have installed nineteen check-posts in Sylhet to avoid any kind of chaos and untoward incident centring BNP’s divisional rally.
According to Sylhet Metropolitan Police, 19 check-posts have been installed at the entry points of Sylhet city and hundreds of plainclothes policemen will perform their duties on Saturday to maintain the law and order situation.
Besides, four mobile court teams will be deployed to check security.
Though bus communication remained halted between Sylhet and other parts of the country since Friday morning, BNP activists from all the districts under the division were seen coming to the rally venue by train, trucks, launches and boats and small vehicles like human haulers, auto rickshaws, three-wheelers, motorbikes, and micro-buses from Thursday.
The rally in Sylhet is the 7th by BNP at the divisional level following Chattogram, Mymensingh, Khulna, Rangpur, Barishal and Faridpur.
Also read: On eve of rally, Sylhet turns into sea of BNP supporters
A similar strike was also enforced ahead of BNP’s divisional rallies in Mymensingh, Barishal, Rangpur, Khulna, and Faridpur, but thousands of party leaders, activists and supporters participated in the rallies overcoming the obstacles.
As part of the move to continue the pace of its ongoing movement, BNP on September 27 announced a series of public rallies in 10 divisional cities.
The organisers said the rallies are meant to denounce the price hike of daily essentials and fuels, the death of five party men in previous police action in Bhola, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, and Jashore, and to ensure the freedom of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
The BNP has long been demanding that the next general election be held under a caretaker government, not under any political government--a demand sharply rejected by the ruling Awami League as the constitution does not allow it to happen.