People suffer as buses become scarce ahead of BNP rally in Mymensingh 

Inter-district bus services to and from Mymensingh division remained suspended since Friday night. 

BNP leaders have alleged that the unannounced transport strike intends to stop party supporters from joining Saturday's rally at the Mymensingh Polytechnic Institute.

However, local transport owners and leaders have refuted such claims. They said that many bus companies refrained from bringing out their vehicles fearing vandalism.

Mymensingh District Motor Vehicle Owners' Association President Momtaz Uddin, said, "We did not stop the buses from running. But one can voluntarily suspend operations."

The sudden scarcity of public transport has made the lives of the passengers of various destinations more difficult. 

The Business Standard, as of Saturday morning, did not find any of the buses in Patgudam, Trishal, and Maskanda bus stands leaving for their designated destinations.

Contacted, BNP divisional committee's Organising Secretary Syed Imran Saleh Prince said, "This strategy [of shutting down public transport] has been taken to prevent a mass uprising. 

"But all such tactics will fail and our rally will make history" 

Photo: TBS

Earlier yesterday (14 October) BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir had said their party will not stop at any obstacle in their ongoing movement to 'restore' democracy and people's voting rights by ousting the Awami League government.

"We want to move forward with our movement systematically and democratically. We want to restore the right to hold meetings and rallies. We won't concede to any obstacle and neither will the country's people," he said.

Talking to reporters at his local residence here, the BNP leader said last week, the leaders and activists of their party and its associate bodies at all levels from district to union in Chattogram demonstrated how to brave all adversities by joining the first of ten divisional rallies in great numbers. 

He said their party is supposed to hold their second scheduled divisional rally in Mymensingh on Saturday, but Awami League has called a rally there on the same day, contravening political norms. This may cause the local administration to declare Section 144 in the area, imposing restrictions on freedom of assembly and preventing anyone from rallying.

As part of the BNP's planned divisional rallies, the party's Mymensingh city unit has arranged the rally that will formally begin at 2pm. It will be the party's second divisional rally as the first one was held in Chattogram on 12 October.

On 27 September, the BNP announced to hold public division-level rallies in 10 cities, in protest against the ongoing power crisis, unusual price hikes in daily essentials and the killing of five opposition activists in police firing in Bhola, Narayanganj, Munshiganj and Jashore during anti-government protests by the party.

The party will conclude the divisional rallies through a huge gathering in Dhaka city on 10 December.