Normalcy crawls back to cities, towns

But clashes took place in some areas including Rajshahi city where at least 100 people were injured when Islami Chhatra Shibir activists attacked a rally of 14-party alliance.

Road-rail barricade continued till yesterday in some districts though the Awami League-led 14-party alliance withdrew the programme following positive political developments in the capital, our correspondents reported.

Section 144 clamped to stave off violence was still in force in some areas. Rival parties brought out processions in some district towns as a show of strength but avoided clash.

Barisal city witnessed a calm day yesterday after two days' clashes between Awami League and BNP activists that left a BNP activist killed and over 40 people injured, our correspondent reported.

The rival party activists also ransacked each other's party offices, houses and business enterprises at many points in the city during the violence.

Section 144, imposed in the city centre and surrounding areas, remained in force till yesterday. Patrol on streets by Rab, APBN and police continued. Deputy Commissioner of Barisal Metropolitan Police Skaikh Abdur Rahim told our correspondent that Section 144 will continue in certain areas of the city till normalcy returns.

The roadblock program called by the opposition alliance continued in highways and adjacent areas. This correspondent saw the Barisal-Dhaka highway barricaded at Amtala intersection in the city yesterday evening. A small number of transports however plied some city streets.

Vehicles did not ply highways and inter-district routes till yesterday evening. Transport owners said they will ply vehicles from morning today.

Launches and other river transports started moving. But Most of them were over-loaded with passengers.

Banks and other financial institutions, most markets and shops reopened.

However prices of the essentials rose as supplies were disrupted due to countrywide road blockade.

Presence of people in offices and courts were less than normal as communication is yet to return to normalcy.

Classes and examinations in educational institutions did not resume yesterday.

In Rangpur, calm prevailed in the town while a Jamaat office was torched in Pirgacha yesterday afternoon.

Local Jamaat leaders claimed that the party office was burnt by 14-party activists, an allegation denied by their leaders. Police was yet to identify the culprits.

Rangpur Police Superin-tendent Hasanul Haider held a meeting with representatives of all political parties to maintain law and order.

Meeting sources said the political leaders said they would try to check violence during political programmes and help the administration maintain peace.

Our Mymensingh Corres-pondent reported that a normal situation was prevailing in the district after two days' unrest which left over 50 people injured, including three journalists.

Shops reopened and people were seen on streets, shopping centres and kitchen markets in large numbers.

Transport company owners said they will ply their vehicles from night (Monday night).

Mymensingh Police Superintendent Chhibgat Ullah held a meeting with leaders of all political parties seeking their cooperation to maintain peace and order.

District BNP president AKM Mosharraf Hossain, secretary Monjurul Haque Monju, Awami League president Motiur Rahman and secretary Abdul Matin Sarker and front ranking leaders of other parties attended the meeting.

In Brahmanbaria, an uneasy calm prevailed in the town while BNP held a mourning meeting at a community centre in the town and brought out a procession in the afternoon to protest the killing of its district vice-president advocate Sheikh Md. Habibullah in a bomb attack on a party procession Friday night. But there was no violence in the town.

Markers and shops started reopening after three day's shutdown following clashes between BNP and Awami League.

Tension prevailed in the political circle as Juba League worker Md. Haroon Mia and Chatra League activists Md. Iqubal, injured in a clash in

Bancharampur upazila, were sent to Dhaka for better treatment.

At the meeting, BNP decided to hold a protest meeting on November 6 at Poura Mukta Mancha here.

Brahmanbaria Bar Association also brought out a mourning procession in the court complex to mourn the death of district BNP vice-president.

According to police sources, three platoons of BDR and five platoons of police headed by two magistrates were deployed in the town.

During clashes on Friday and Saturday, at least 16 houses and four shops were damaged.