CHITTAGONG. May 4: A dawn-to-dusk hartal today paralysed the life in the port city and its surrounding areas.

The All-Party Action Council of four opposition parties called the hartal protesting swearing-in of Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) mayor and commissioners elected in January 3 and demanding cancellation of that election.

The BNP. JP. Jamaat and IOJ boycotted the January 3 election and agitated to resist the polls.

However, barring some stray incidents, today's hartal passed off almost peacefully, police said.

A member of Ansar received minor injury in his face when a cocktail exploded near a police van at Kalamiar Bazar during hartal hours at 10 am.

Police chased some pickets there after the incident.

A truck was damaged by tickets during the hartal in aldighi area at around 3:30 pm. witnesses said.

Police also dispersed pickets from Muradpur and Lalkhan Bazar area. Paramilitary. BDR, police and Ansars were de-

ployed at different places of the city to foil any attempt of violence.

Road communications between Chittagong and other parts of the country were disrupted as most of the vehicles stayed off the roads and highways. A large number of rickshaws plied in the city during hartal hours.

Most of the shops and markets remained closed while some offices both private and public functioned with thin attendance.

Train service to and from Chittagong was as usual, railway source said. Dellven' of goods to and from Chittagong Port was suspended during the hartal due to lack of trucks. But cargo handling inside the Jetties was carried out. port sources said. Mills and factories at the industrial belts of Nasirabad. Kalurghat. Patenga and Sitakundu suffered production loss due to thin attendance of workers.

Rallies and processions were organised by hartal supporters while BCL activists held an anti-hartal rally at Bipanibi-