Dhaka: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) activists yesterday enforced a strike in Dhaka, protesting the splitting of the 400-year-old capital for civic convenience, witnesses and police said.
They said ex-mayor of the just-split Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and BNP leader Sadek Hussain Khoka was detained briefly as clashes erupted between riot police and activists. Khoka was leading the demonstration in the old section of Dhaka where the protesters torched a police van and a motorbike.
Television footage showed armed policemen whisking Khoka away in a van. A police spokesman said he was detained for his "own safety" during the clashes but was freed after an hour.
Witnesses said at least a dozen opposition activists were detained at the downtown court complex as they hurled bricks at police, who retaliated with batons and tear gas canisters.
Schools, malls closed
"Nearly 100 tear gas shells were lobbed as pro-opposition lawyers joined the BNP activists with a procession at the court complex," a photojournalist who witnessed the clashes said.
Schools, shopping malls and businesses were shut while traffic was very thin on the street, with most transport operators and private vehicle owners preferring to stay off the road during the day-long strike. Police with riot gear and elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) men kept a sharp vigil.
Meanwhile, BNP's acting general secretary Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told newsmen at the Nayapaltan party office that nearly 100 party workers were arrested.
He said such actions by the ruling Awami League would only strengthen the anti-government campaign.
The government, meanwhile, appointed two bureaucrat "administrators" for the two corporations, and an official order said mayoral elections to the municipal bodies would be held in the next 90 days.
Parliament, which was boycotted by the opposition, last week passed into law a bill seeking to split the capital. President Zillur Rahman gave his assent to the law on Thursday.
Population growth
"The population of Dhaka City has increased to more than one crore [10 million]. In this situation, it is very difficult to provide services for the huge population by one city corporation. The city inhabitants are not getting the desired services and civic amenities," read the parliamentary bill justifying the split.
The move automatically dislodged Khoka and the DCC councillors.
Khoka, however, filed a writ in High Court earlier last week challenging the DCC's slicing saying it was split in defiance of constitutional provisions. The court asked the government and the Election Commission to explain in four weeks why the bill should not be declared illegal and unconstitutional.
The BNP earlier said the government decided to split the DCC fearing that the ruling Awami League would lose the next mayoral polls, as the opposition was likely to field Khoka again as their candidate, considering his "massive popularity".
The corporation covered an area of about 360 square kilometres.
The government decision to divide the DCC also sparked violent protests between its employees and armed police.
