
No processions or protests in solidarity with the strike were seen in the Jatrabari, Kajla, and Shonir Akhra areas as of 10 am
Online Desk:
Traffic was mostly light in Dhaka amid a daylong hartal called by the BNP, with streets populated largely by public sector workers on their commutes.
As the day progressed, few businessmen or private sector employees were spotted in the streets. Only a handful of people had ignored the strike to venture out for urgent work.
Driver Rafiqul Islam, after completing a trip to the Shonir Akhra area, said, “On Sunday, the first workday of the week, passengers will hire you as early as 8 am. But not today. I did not see a crowd anywhere. Passengers are usually available here for trips to Mirpur, Banani, and Gulshan in the morning.”
Rafiqul said that he dropped off a passenger in Mohammadpur and returned to Shonir Akhra due to the lack of passengers on the regular travel routes.

Sayem Hossain, an employee of a private hospital in Khilgaon, said, “The roads are completely empty. There are more buses on the streets than people. There are no street vendors either.”
A similar scene was observed in Jatrabari. Only rickshaw-pullers and labourers were on the streets. Public transport vehicles were waiting for passengers.
There was a noticeable police presence in Jatrabari and Sayedabad. No processions or protests in solidarity with the strike were seen in the Jatrabari, Kajla, and Shonir Akhra areas as of 10 am. Nevertheless, Awami League activists occupied the streets to protest the strike.

Mahtab Mia, a Tarabo Paribahan employee working on the Matuail-Motijheel route, said that there were no passengers. “The owner had instructed us to operate the bus. We are picking up whoever we can find.”
Buses on this route are typically packed with regular commuters around 8 am, but passengers were nowhere to be found on Sunday, said Mahtab.