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Thousands join human walls

Staff Correspondent
Thousands of people yesterday formed separate human walls in the capital and all divisional and district headquarters, demanding immediate resignation of the four-party coalition government to pave the way for an early general election.
The demonstrators carried banners and placards inscribed with antigovernment slogans during the one-hour programme that started at 4:00pm and ended peacefully amid tight security measures taken by the administration.
Apart from the opposition leaders and workers, members of various professional groups, teachers, students, cultural activistsand trade unionists joined tire programme at the call of tire mainstream oppositionparties.
Awami League (AL), left leaning 11-Party alliance, Jatiya SamajtantrikDal(JSD) and National Awami Party (NAP) called for the programme as part of their simultaneous movement to overthrow the BNP-led coalition.
The opposition leaders termed the demonstration a total success and said people have once again shown no-confidence in the government by spontaneously participating in the human walls across the country.
The government took tight security measures at all sensitive points on the human wall routes to avert any untoward incident.
The participants wearing head bands and ribbons held banners that read slogans like "Down with Khaleda-Nizami government", "Give food, cloth, or quit" and "Khaleda-Nizami are mastermind of grenade attacks and religious extremism."
The demonstrators chanted antigovernment slogans in protest against the price hike of essentials, repeated grenade attacks and rise of extremism and fundamentalist groups. Many of them were seen singing patriotic songs.
The programme drew attention of passers-by and people returning from offices.
In the ongoing course of agitation, the opposition parties will form human walls at upazila level on March 20, hold countrywide hunger processions on March 23 and enforce a dawn-to-dusk countrywide hartal on March 27. IN DHAKA
Three human walls were formed in the capital -- starting from Jatrabari, Tongi Bridge and Gabtoli bus terminal -- towards Zero Point.
The busy roads in Sayedabad, Motijheel, Gulistan, Uttara, Rampura, Malibagh, Kakrail, Paltan, Russell Square, Elephant Road, Shahbagh, High Court, Curzon Hall, Nagar Bhaban and Bangabandhu Avenue areas were covered by the programme.
Senior leaders of the mainstream opposition parties took part in the demonstration in front of Muktangon.
"People of Bangladesh have shown no-confidence in the BNP-Jamaat-led coalition once again by joining the human wall spontaneously," AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil told reporters at the end of the programme.
Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) General Secretary Mujahidul Islam Selim standing near Paltan Crossing said, "We are now holding mass awareness programme and through this we will go for tougher programmes."
JSD President Hasanul Haq Inu said, "People will force this government to step down and pave the way for a fresh election."
"This is just the beginning of a vigorous movement and we will continue our programme until the government resigns," said AL Joint Secretary Obaidul Quader.
Workers Party president Rashed Khan Menon and AL leaders Zillur Rahman, Amir Hossain Amu, Abdur Razzak, Tofail Ahmed, Suranjit Sengupta and Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim took part in the programme near Muktangon.
The human wall, fifth of its kind in the last one year, drew significant number of women demonstrators. "I'm here to join the programme only to protest the price hike of essentials," said Anjuman Ara, a housewife.
Kamal Ahmed, a demonstrator from Mohammadpur, said the government has failed to bring the killers of former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria to book. "The lives
of politicians as well as common people are insecure," he observed.
"If the government does not crush the rising fundamentalism, then the country will face disaster in near future," said Amir Uddin, a resident of Dhanmondi who joined the antigovernment human wall programme.
OTHER DISTRICTS
Our Rajshahi correspondent adds: The opposition-sponsored human wall programme was observed peacefully in the divisional headquarters yesterday.
Hundreds of political leaders and workers, cultural activists and professionals formed the human wall stretching from Kumarpara to Moni Chattar in the city.
After the one-hour programme, Awami League brought out a procession in protest against the crisis of electricity and water.
Our Khulna correspondent says: The human wall programme was observed in the city peacefully, stretching from Bangladesh Bank intersection to Dakbungalow.
Our Sylhet correspondent reports: Opposition activists formed the human wall near the city's Court Point area. The programme was observed peacefully.
Our district correspondents also reported that the human wall programme was observed peacefully in Rangpur, Jessore, Dinajpur, Lalmonirhat, Gopalganj and Bandarban.