Road march ends with call for electoral reforms

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Awami League (AL)-led 14-party opposition coalition’s six-day road march programme ended yesterday in a ceremonial mood as thousands of demonstrators sought votes for boat, the electoral symbol of AL in the coming parliamentary election.

The six-kilometre street from Aminbazar in Savar to Russel Square at Dhanmondi in the capital turned into a human sea yesterday as thousands of opposition activists kept joining the march at different spots on Mirpur Road.

Waving colourful banners, festoons and placards and waving replicas of boats on rickshaws, opposition activists started marching at 5:00pm from Aminbazar area amid unprecedented security measures.

As the marchers reached Russel Square, they rejoiced by singing and dancing until 14-party Dhaka City Coordinator Mofazzel Hossain Chowdhury Maya formally announced the end of the march at about 6:30pm.

Held amid apprehension of sabotage among both the government and the opposition parties, the road march programme did not see any untoward incident.

The six-day programme that started on July 25 sought to mobilise the people through street agitations to force the BNP-Jamaat alliance government to accept proposed reforms in the system of caretaker government and the Election Commission.

Police, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), Bangladesh Rifles and intelligence agencies were deployed along the march route. Rab personnel stood guard on the roofs of high rise buildings while a Rab helicopter hovered above to closely monitor the march.

The law enforcers put a number of barricades on different city roads and no public or private vehicle was allowed to ply between Science Laboratory and Savar from 3:00pm to 7:00pm. The law enforcers also blocked different lanes and by-lanes of Mirpur Road until the marchers left Russel Square at about 7:30pm. Only a limited number of rickshaws operated on Mirpur Road during the march.

The opposition coalition had held a rally at Aminbazar before the march started from there. It also held rallies at Shyamoli and Gabtoli.

Senior opposition leaders including Amir Hossain Amu, Abdur Razzak, Abdul Jalil, Motia Chowdhury, Suranjit Sengupta, Hasanul Haque Inu, Mofazzel Hossain Chowdhury Maya, Bimal Biswas, Dilip Barua, Mainuddin Khan Badal, Nurul Islam, MA Goni, Hasina Doula, Murad Jong, and Maqbul Hossain addressed the rallies.

The leaders vowed to resist any election in the country before the proposed electoral reforms are implemented.

Saying that the people have now become united under the banner of 14-party coalition, Amu, a senior AL presidium member said the prime minister will not be able to destroy the unity of the people by forming alliance with anti-liberation war and autocratic forces.

Regarding Jatiya Party Chairman Hussain Mohammad Ershad’s possible joining with the ruling alliance, AL General Secretary also 14-party Coordinator Abdul Jalil said Ershad will take only 30 seconds to say goodbye to the prime minister after the caretaker government takes charge.

After the rallies senior opposition leaders led the march.

The marchers also blasted the four-party alliance government for price hike of essentials, rise of militancy and disruption of power and water supply. A government led by AL chief Sheikh Hasina will bring an end to the misrule and corruption, they said.

They also chanted slogans that turned into pre-election campaign in favour of several prospective opposition candidates from Mohammadpur, Mirpur and Savar areas in the next election. The candidates including Maqbul Hossain, Kamal Majumder, Hasina Doula and Murad Jong supplied a number of marching bands for their followers who rejoiced all through the march route by singing, dancing and seeking votes for them.

Lack of vehicles caused sufferings for homebound people from busy areas like Dhanmondi, Mohammadpur, Shyamoli, Gabtoli and other parts of the city. No inter-district bus left Gabtoli for different districts from 3:30pm to 5:30pm.

Senior leaders of the coalition will meet today to announce the next course of anti-government action programmes. Talking to The Daily Star some of the senior leaders hinted that similar programmes will be chalked out for different districts where ruling BNP has the upper hand.

AL presidium members met last night and discussed the next agitation programme, which is likely to be finalised today after discussing it with party chief, Sheikh Hasina.

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