The mounting sufferings of people in the absence of transport and lack of safety concerzning political programmes of the two major political parties have made life miserable in the city.
On Sunday, people faced great hardships in going out of the capital in the absence of transport and long-distance buses. Even trucks carrying essentials were off the roads. Patients and garments workers were the worst-hit.
The capital was cut off from the rest of the country as its entry points, including Aminbazar, Tongi, Jatrabari, Babubazar, Demra and Postagola, were under the control of law enforcement agencies and ruling party supporters.
The absence of different modes of transport in and outside the capital made city dwellers suffer immensely throughout the day. The non-availability of transport left office goers, students, patients, women and children in the lurch. The situation was pathetic particularly at Mirpur-1, Mirpur-10, Shahbagh, Farmgate, Mohakhali, Gabtali, Sayedabad, Jatrabari, Gulistan, New Market, Banani, Gulshan, Uttara, Motijheel, Kamalapur, Press Club, Paltan, Mohammadpur and Dhanmondi.
Cashing in on the plight of the people, rickshaw pullers and auto-rickshaw drivers made a windfall by charging more even for short journeys. Traffic remained suspended because of the government’s instructions to prevent the opposition’s much-hyped ‘March for Democracy’ programme.
Rickshaws, CNG-run auto-rickshaws and battery-run three-wheelers were dominating the city streets. Some people were seen heading towards their destinations on rickshaws, vans while some others were seen walking. Police put up barricades at six points from Gabtali to Aminbazar, the eastern entry point of the capital.
A large number of policemen, members of RAB and BGB were deployed in the area. Commuters, including serious patients, were not allowed to enter the capital without police frisking. Police and RAB personnel searched each and every vehicle, including private cars, ambulances and rickshaws at six points. Those who failed to show their identity cards to law enforcers were not allowed to enter the capital.
Mainul Islam, president (north) of Awami League, took out a rally at Mazar Road point. Many activists of AL, Juba League and Chhatra League guarded the areas with sticks to resist BNP marchers. No passenger buses moved out of the Gabtali bus terminal.
“I will go to Farmgate to my daughter’s house. My daughter is suffering from cancer. Since there is no vehicle on the road, I started my journey on foot from Hemayetpur just after hearing the news,” Mubarak Hossain, 65, told this correspondent at Gabtali point.
A group of 14 labourers were seen walking from Kanchpur bridge to Jatrabari as they were forced to leave their hired vehicle at the eastern gateway of Dhaka on Sunday afternoon. The workers, who had gone to Sonaimuri in Noakhali, were returning home in the northern part of the country. They had worked only for three days and earned Tk. 750 each.
“We started our journey from Sonaimuri on Saturday night and have already spent Tk. 350 each. Now, we don’t have sufficient money to take our meals,” Lovely Miah, 38, told The Independent near the signboard area in Dhaka. He said they were not aware of the march to Dhaka and the situation in and around the city.
Chan Miah, 60, said they don’t have enough money to hire either a vehicle or food. “We did not take any food since Saturday evening as we don’t have enough money,” he added.
Abdul Quader, 60, a cancer patient, had to suffer on way to his village home at Muradnagar, Comilla, as there was no transport. After receiving chemotherapy from Delta Hospital at Mirpur, he started his journey on a rickshaw and reached Farmgate at a cost of Tk. 100. Quader, accompanied by his nephew, reached Jatrabari at 11:30 am, hiring a CNG-run autorickshaw for Tk. 100.
“Now, I don’t understand as to how I will reach Muradnagar since there is no transport because of the opposition’s programme,” he said.
Habibur Rahman, father of a schoolboy, said, “A two-way bus ride from our home at Mohammadpur to my son’s school at Dhanmondi only costs Tk. 20. But today, I was forced to pay Tk. 100 to a rickshaw for dropping me and my son to his school.”
-With The Independent input
