DHAKA, 16 February 2006 — Schools were shut in Bangladesh yesterday and transport services paralyzed as an anti-government strike called by the opposition took hold in most parts of the country, witnesses said.
Police clashed with protesters arresting dozens as the strike calling for 24-hour power supply and lower prices for basic goods and fuel crippled the nation.
A 14-party alliance led by former Prime Minister Hasina Wajed has called the strike to build pressure on the government to resign for what the opposition says is its failure to crack down on militant groups and control soaring fuel, food and fertilizer prices.
“Time is up for this government, they should allow free and fair election under an independent election commission,” Begum Matia Chowdhury, a leader of the main opposition Awami League said as she led a march to enforce the strike in the capital.
Police in a busy commercial area of Dhaka baton-charged hundreds of demonstrators who were shouting “Give us power, give us fertilizer.”
Similar clashes occurred in Dhaka University campus when police in riot gears dispersed student supporters of the opposition.
Police said there were no injuries but the private UNB news agency said at least 50 people were hurt as police battled demonstrators in Dhaka. It added 20 more were injured in clashes in Narayanganj and Munshiganj towns near Dhaka and Bandarban in the southeast.
“The strike was largely peaceful except for some sporadic clashes between police and strike supporters,” Dhaka police chief Mizanur Rahman said.
He added at least 56 people were arrested for violence during the strike.
Security was heightened with a least 8,000 policemen and paramilitary soldiers patrolling the capital’s streets to avert violence, said Ali Ahmed at the Dhaka police control room.
The strike largely halted life across the country of 140 million people, shutting schools, colleges, shops, businesses and financial markets.
Cars and trucks were off the road across Bangladesh and port cargo shipments were hit, but the railway, which carries little freight, was working.
Awami League has been waging a strident campaign that has included frequent general strikes to oust the Islamist-allied government, accusing it of poor governance, corruption and failing to tackle rising militancy in the nation.
Police, meanwhile, said all was calm in the western city of Rajshahi after at least 20 people were injured late Tuesday when they hurled tear gas to control protesters who turned violent as they geared up for the strike.
“We’ve deployed around 1,000 policemen in the city and so far things are calm,” Rajshahi police chief Naim Ahmed said.
Anger has been surging among Bangladeshis over the past year over rising grain, fertilizer and fuel prices along with massive power shortages. In some areas, people are getting only four hours of electricity a day.
Commodity and fuel prices have shot up due to global price hikes, government officials say, and inflation is running at over seven percent. Last September the government raised gasoline prices by 17 percent.
Some people in recent weeks have been staging local protests against the price rises and power woes.
Last month, at least 11 people died in the northwestern district of Chapainawabganj when police opened fire on protesting farmers demanding reliable cheap power to allow them to irrigate their fields. The cash-strapped government has commissioned new power plants that it says will improve the situation soon. — Additional input from AFP
