A scheduled BNP rally at Suhrawardy Udyan, coupled with the paucity of public transports than other days, virtually brought Dhaka to a standstill yesterday. The commuters were the worst sufferers as hundreds of students and office-goers were left stranded at bus stops across the city since morning. They alleged that only a few buses were plying while those belonging to other Dhaka-bound transport organisations stayed off the roads. Several people with urgent work in Dhaka were forced to take lifts in smaller vehicles or take long routes to reach the capital. The situation was equally grim in the city. There were virtually no vehicles to be seen in Malibagh, Mouchak and Mogbazar areas, forcing hundreds of commuters to walk to their destinations or take other modes of transport such as rickshaws and CNG-run autos. There were also traffic congestions in some areas in Dhaka, adding to the chaos.

Saiful Islam, a private bank employee, said he had been waiting for one-and-a-half hours to get a bus, but there was none going towards his destination. Rahman Mia, a commuter standing at Mogbazar turn, said: “One or two buses had come this way, but their doors were closed”. Malibagh resident Karamat Ali said he was waiting for over an hour to go to Kalyanpur, but there were no buses in sight. When contacted, a Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Traffic) official told The Independent: “The conditions given to the BNP for holding the rally were not followed properly. This led to intense traffic congestions. The Traffic Division was unaware about the less number of public transports.”

On its part, the BNP blamed the ruling Awami League (AL) for halting long-distance and city buses. BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir accused leaders of the ruling party’s local unit of instructing transport owners in Dhaka and surrounding districts to keep their vehicles off the roads. “The AL has taken this strategy to foil our rally at Suhrawardy Udyan,” he said.

When asked about the BNP allegation, AL general secretary Obaidul Quader said: “We will examine the issue to find out who created the obstructions.”

Transport workers claimed that the owners were told to stop plying their buses. A transport owner said many owners had kept their vehicles off the road for fear of arson and vandalism in the run up to the BNP rally.

Fewer buses from Gazipur, Narayanganj, Manikganj and Munshiganj entered Dhaka and a less number of vehicles from the capital left for these districts.

According to sources, the BNP rally was supposed to start at 2 pm, but party leaders and activists had started arriving at the venue from morning. This led to a virtual shutdown of the road leading to Suhrawardy Udyan, and its effect was felt in the entire city.

Earlier, the DMP had given permission to the BNP to hold the rally on the condition that it would conclude by 5 pm. BNP leaders and activists would be allowed to enter the venue two hours before the rally, which was to be addressed by party chairperson Khaleda Zia.

The other conditions refrained the rally organisers from showing any cartoon or making any statement hurting religious sentiments, making any provocative statement, carrying out any anti-state or anti-peace activities, creating any obstacle to traffic, using loudspeakers at unapproved places, using rods and sticks with banners and festoons, and entering the venue in processions and gathering on footpaths.