Day-long hartal in city today

Opposition BNP enforces dawn-to-dusk hartal (strike) in the capital city today (Sunday) pressing home their demand for cancelling the government's decision to split Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), reports UNB. Jamaat-e-Islami and other like minded political parties have extended their support to the shutdown programme. Parliament passed Local Government (City Corporation) Act (Amendment) Bill 2011 on November 29 to divide DCC into North and South parts. Police allegedly charged baton on a pro-hartal procession Saturday afternoon in Paltan area. BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said that the police swooped on their procession near Paltan Panir (Water) Tank area at around 2:15 pm. He said the police charged baton on the procession and left several people injured. Rizvi, Jatiyatabadi Shechhasebok Dal president Habib-un-Nabi Khan Sohel and general secretary Sarafat Ali Sapu, among others, led the procession and distributed leaflets among the people in support of strike. BNP central leaders including acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and city BNP member secretary Abdus Salam distributed leaflets in support of the hartal. The city BNP organised processions in ward levels Saturday.