Normal life, business and academic activities in surrounding areas of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters came to a halt Wednesday following the daylong clashes in and outside the command centre of the country's paramilitary border guards.
Movement of all mode of transports, including passenger buses and private cars, remained off the nearby roads after the shooting incident started at about 9:30 am, causing immense sufferings to city dwellers, especially the working and business people and students.
Many of the dwellers had to move on foot due to lack of public transports. Although a few number of rickshaws was seen plying on some of lanes and by-lanes of the nearby streets, the people had to pay much higher than the normal fare for availing the transport.
Witnesses said markets, business establishments, shops and private offices remained shut thought the day following gunfire and burst of mortar shells inside the BDR headquarters.
Such shooting incident created panic among the people of Pilkhana, Dhanmondi, New Market, Azimpur, Zigatala, New Paltan, Nilkhet areas.
Residents of most of the areas also remained confined in their homes throughout day as members of RAB, Police and Army advised them not come out.
Transactions in most of the commercial banks located in the areas were badly affected, witnesses said.
Classes and examinations of all the adjacent collages, schools and other educational institutions were seriously hampered while students of some of the institutions, especially BDR school and collage, remained virtually hostage inside the area.
Our DU correspondent Adds: All examinations of Dhaka University (DU) scheduled for today (Thursday) have been postponed due to the unavoidable reason.
DU Examination Controller Bahalul Huq Chowdhury said Wednesday a fresh date for the deferred examinations will be announced later.
Meanwhile, female students of the university's Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall and Kuwait-Moitree Hall, located near the BDR headquarters, were shifted to Rokeya Hall, Shamsunnahar Hall and Fayzunnesa Chowdhurani Hostel for the security reason.
Over 1000 female students of the two dormitories were taken to three other halls Wednesday evening following a decision at an emergency meeting of the DU provost committee with the university Vice-Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique in the chair.
Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall provost Dil Roushan Zinat Ara Naznin said the stranded students of the two halls have been suffering from serious insecurity as the dormitories are very close to the BDR headquarters.
Many students of the two dormitories, who came out from their dormitories before the clashes took place, could not return to their respective halls.
