Eleven arson attacks were reported in the 15 hours from 6:00 pm on Saturday as the first day of the BNP-led opposition-called 48-hour hartal passed off on Sunday.
Leaders and activists of the opposition brought out processions in different places of the capital in support of the hartal.
A noticeable number of public buses and other modes of vehicle were seen plying the city roads.
During the hartal, the opposition leaders reiterated their demands for the cancellation of the election schedule, resignation of the government and holding a national election under a neutral caretaker administration.
Police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel remained deployed at different places of the capital to ensure safety and security of the people.
Ruling Awami League leaders and stalwarts remained in a watchful position at different points in the capital to thwart possible arson attacks by miscreants during hartal.
Nurul Haque Noor, president of a faction of Gono Adhikar Parishad, said on Sunday the government will not be allowed to hold another unilateral election in 2024 as it did in 2014 and 2018.
He added people of the country will not accept this type of election this time.
He was addressing a brief rally near Bijoy Nagar Water Tank in support of the hartal.
He called upon the government to give back people's voting rights and not to cling on to power illegally.
Meanwhile, Zonayed Saki, chief coordinator of Ganosamhati Andolon, said Awami League wants to score by resorting to widespread oppression and suppression on the opponents.
"Obaidul Quader wants to play but doesn't like to see opponents in the field. If there are opposition players in the field then it is his problem. He simply likes to see only his players are in the field and he will make score," he said at a brief rally in front of the National Press Club in support of the countrywide hartal.
"You (ruling Awami League) keep the opponents outside the stadium. You keep them (opponents) in jail. And now you want to hold national elections unilaterally," he remarked.
"Ruling Awami League cannot play alone; rather they prefer to play along with police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) against the opponents," he said.
"People of the country have rejected the election schedule as well as the election," he added.
There will be no democracy in the country if another election without voters is held amid the absence of people's voting rights and democracy in the country, he observed.
A procession brought by Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in support of the hartal was foiled by the ruling party followers near Bijoybagar Skylark Park in the city.
Mahbubur Rahman, office secretary of LDP, claimed that their procession was foiled by the ruling party men when they tried to move towards Bijoybagar from Kakrail.
Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal brought out a procession in support of the hartal.
The procession started from Malibagh and terminated at Rajarbagh.
Aktaruzzaman Akhter, vice-president of Chhatra Dal central committee, Nasir Uddin Nasir, vice-president, and MM Musa, joint secretary, among others participated in the procession.
They demanded cancellation of the election schedule and holding the parliamentary polls under a non-partisan caretaker government.
Besides, eight vehicles were torched by miscreants in the capital and other parts of the country on Saturday night before the 48-hour hartal started (on Sunday), according to the fire service and civil defense.
Miscreants set afire a bus of Bihongo Paribahan at Kafrul in the city and another bus of Kamol Paribahan near Gulistan flyover toll plaza in the city.
Another bus was set ablaze near Dhanmondi Lab Aid Hospital and another was torched at Kalshi, Mirpur in the capital on Saturday night.
A bus was set on fire at Bahaddarhat in Chattogram while a pickup van was torched in Joypurhat, a pickup in Kendua upazila of Netrakona district and a bus was set afire in Cumilla on Saturday night.
Our Chattogram correspondent reports: The first day of the two-day hartal enforced by opposition BNP passed off in a lax way in the port city on Sunday.
There happened no mentionable unwanted incidents in the city and rural areas of Chattogram during the hartal.
Traffic on the city streets remained normal during the shutdown. But the long-distance buses did not operate.
The port city streets were unusually quiet, with fewer people around.
However, private cars, auto-rickshaws, ambulances, pickups, and buses were seen playing.
Loading and unloading in Chittagong Port, the prime seaport of the country, was normal during the hartal. But delivery of cargos remained suspended.
BNP leaders and activists were hardly seen on the streets. Office of the BNP in the port city was also closed during the hartal.
The city's offices, courts, banks and schools were operating as usual.
A huge number of police personnel remained deployed at the important places including Nasimon Bhabon, Kajirdweri, WASA point, Lal Khan Bazar, Darul Fazal Market, New Market, Chattogram Press Club, Bahaddarhat, Muradpur, 2 no rail gate at Sholoshahar, Agrabad, Barik Building and Dewanhat.
Officials of Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) and district police said picketers tried to bring out processions in different areas.
But the overall law and order situation was under control of the police.
There occurred no unwanted happening anywhere during the hartal.
Of the 11 vehicles set afire, five were in Dhaka city, according to the media cell of Fire Service and Civil Defence.
Meanwhile, three reports of arson violence were recorded in Rajshahi division, two in Chattogram, and one in Mymensingh, said Talha Bin Zashim, station officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence (media cell).
The affected vehicles included six buses, one covered van, one CNG-run autorickshaw, one pickup van, and three carriages of a train.
A total of 107 members of 20 firefighting units worked to douse the fires across the country during this period.
A 48-hour hartal - called by BNP, Jamaat and like-minded opposition parties - protesting the general election schedule announced by the Election Commission (EC) is underway from this morning amid fear of violence.
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