Dhaka turned into a virtual ghost city for the second consecutive night yesterday since the 60-hour hartal began on Monday.

As dusk fell, the streets looked desolate. In the absence of street lights in some roads, fewer people ventured out. There were fewer rickshaws on the streets. Only the hardcore among the rickshawpullers were prepared to ply their three-wheelers on dark streets and alleyways but there were fewer people to avail those.

Sporadic explosions of Ghost city

From Page 1 home-made bombs in Bijoynagar. Paltan and other areas only added to the fear among people.

Policemen were seen sitting together in these areas, wearily watching the alleyways.

They did not dare to venture into the maze of alleyways from where cracker throwers played cat and mouse with them.

As the hartal stretched, it was the poor in the city who found it difficult to scrape a living as business remained shuttered for the second day.