Bangladesh hit by transport shutdown, 30 hurt

Dhaka, July 2: Millions of Bangladeshis were stranded today as opposition parties enforced a countrywide transport shutdown amid tight security and scattered violence, police and witnesses said.

They said buses, trains and ferries were mostly idle as hundreds of opposition leaders and activists blockaded terminals in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere across the country.

At least 20 people were injured in clashes between opposition and pro-government activists in the southern coastal town of Barisal, 300 km from Dhaka, witnesses said.

Authorities deployed more than 8,000 extra police and paramilitary troops in the capital, and more in other cities, trying to avert violence and damage to property.

A 14-party alliance led by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, chief of the opposition Awami League, called the shutdown in an attempt to force the government to implement electoral reforms before a general election due next January.

The opposition notably demands the immediate removal of chief election commissioner MA Aziz for alleged pro-government bias, and a say in choosing a caretaker administration to supervise the polls.

In Dhaka's Mahakhali area, witnesses said about 10 activists were injured in clashes with police. Scattered violence was also reported from other areas of the city.

''We are ready to act if they (opposition activists) turn violent and damage public property,'' a senior policeman said.

''We may call for general strikes if the government tries to break the peaceful blockade by using force,'' Amir Hossain Amu, a senior leader of the Awami League, told reporters.

Opposition parties recently organised a series of strikes, road blockades and other programmes in Bangladesh, one of the world's poorest countries with 140 million population.

Reuters