After staging consecutive road-march programmes from the cities to unions across the country for over a month, BNP and like-minded parties on Saturday announced to form human chains in all divisional cities and district towns on March 11 to press home their 10-point demand.
The fresh programme of the simultaneous movement came from the opposition’s march programme observed in all thanas under 13 organisational divisional cities, including Dhaka.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Alamgir launched the programme around 2:45p by taking part in a road march of Uttara East Thana unit BNP in front of Uttra Public College.
As part of the next course of the simultaneous movement, the BNP Secretary General announced the human chain programme in all metropolitan cities, including Dhaka and in all district towns on March 11 to press home their 10-point demand, including the resignation of the current regime and holding the next election under a non-party neutral government.
The programme is also meant for mounting pressure on the government to reduce the prices of daily essential commodities and power and other utility services.
The leaders and activists of BNP and its associate bodies in all thanas under Dhaka south and north city units arranged separate rallies and brought out processions as part of their road march programme in all divisional cities.
Party standing committee members and senior ones led a similar programme in all thanas in the capital and all other divisional cities.
In the capital, Dhaka south and north city units of BNP staged the road march in 51 thanas of the capital almost peacefully, except for the ruling party's reported attacks on the opposition activists in Hazaribagh and Turag areas.
Besides, police arrested former Jubo Dal President Saiful Islam Nirob after BNP’s march programme in Tejgaon area in the capital
Jubo Dal north unit ex-president SM Jahangir said police arrested Nirob when a road march reached the Tejgaon Rail Line area from Karwan Bazar.
In a press release, BNP alleged that police also arrested its leaders and activists from Khilgaon, Kamrangirchar, Uttar Bhatara areas during the road march programme.
The party also claimed that the ruling party activists attacked the vehicles of BNP media cell convener Zohiruddin Swapan and assistant human rights affairs secretary Syeda Ashifa Ashrafi Papia and the house of BNP’s Dhaka north city unit joint convener Mostafa in Turag area, leaving at least 25 people injured
Apart from BNP, Ganotantra Mancha arranged the march programme in front of the Jatiya Press Club while LDP in Panthapath, Badda, Jatrabari, Jatiyatabadi Samamona Jote in Bijoynagar and Peshajibi Ganatantrik Jote in Purana Paltan in the capital.
They announced the human chain programme in all divisional cities, including Dhaka, on March 11 to press home their different demands, including the resignation of the Awami League government and holding the next polls under a non-party administration.
From December last year, BNP and like-minded parties and alliances started a simultaneous movement to bring down the government, or at least realise the all-important caretaker or non-party provision ahead of the next election.
Besides, the leaders and activists of BNP’s Dhaka north and south city units observed the march programme in five areas in the capital since January 28.
The party also arranged a similar programme in all unions, districts and divisional cities across the country to press home their 10-point demand.