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Dawn-to-dusk hartal today

Hartal curtailed in Dhaka., Gaibandha, cancelled in Ctg

Staff Correspondent
The main opposition Awami League (AL) and its left-leaning allies enforce a dawn-to-dusk hartal today across the county, except for eight hours in the capital and six hours in the tornado-hit Gaibandha district, keeping Chittagong City out of die programme.
The members of the 14-party opposition line-up called the shutdown as a part of its ongoing simultaneous movements demanding an immediate resignation of die four-party coalition government to pave way for an early general election.
'The hartal has been shortened by four hours, from 6:00am to 2:00pm, in Dhaka metropolis to facilitate a demonstration called by the family of slain AL lawmaker Shah AMS Kibria in front of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban this afternoon.
Kibria's family will display the banners of signatures collected from different parts of the country and abroad in support of its demand for an independent and fair investigation into the January 27 grenade attack that killed the former finance minister and for bringing the real perpetrators to book.
The shutdown in the port city of Chittagong was called off last night to make way for an Islamic conference in Patiya as well as to keep requests of the local business community.
The opposition combine shortened the hartal hours for the northern district of Gaibandha up to noon to ensure unhindered relief work for about 40,000 people affected by the recenttornado.
In the rest of the country, the shutdown will be from 6:00am to 6:00pm.
Hospital, pharmacy, ambulance, hotel, fire brigade, and press and media transports would remain outside the ambit of the strike.
However, for the first time before a hartal day, leaders of ruling coalition-backed transport owners associations declared to defy the hartal and operate long-range buses and trucks under police protection.
Leaders of Truck Owners' Association and Bangladesh Sarak
Paribahan Samity made the announcement jointly on Monday and said, if necessary, they would offer the passengers a 50-percent fare discount on the hartal day.
On hartals days, usually a few minibuses and three-wheelers operate in the capital, but the long-route buses and trucks keep off the roads.
Apart from the AL, the components of left-leaning 11 -party alliance, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal and National Awami party leaders from separate rallies this month had announced the shutdown, initially for March 27, but later shifted to today considering the Easter Sunday.
The opposition line-up has been agitating on street against the BNP-Jamaat-led coalition since late 2004 on a common nine-point charter of demands and protesting price spiral of essentials, deteriorating law and order, repeated grenade attacks and rise of Islamic militancy in the country under alleged government patronage.
Around 8,000 law enforcers will be deployed today at different city points to maintain law and order. Police have been asked to remain alert and not to allow any procession during the hartal hours.
AL and its front organisations yesterday brought out processions in the city to drum up support for today's hartal.