Dhaka: Dhaka divisional grand rally of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) formally began at 2:05pm Wednesday at Paltan Maidan, with party faithful pouring in by their tens and thousands.

BNP Chairperson and main opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia is likely to announce a set of anti-government programmes from this meet, her 6th and last divisional rally meant for strengthening the party unity and gearing up their much-talked-about movement.

In recent rallies in Khulna, Rajshahi and Barisal, the former PM said she would come up with tougher anti-government programmes at the Dhaka rally.

Party sources said Begum Khaleda Zia would arrive at the venue at around 4 pm.

Besides banners, festoons and posters, the venue was decorated with pictures of BNP-founder Ziaur Rahman, Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and their elder son and senior vice-chairman Tareq Rahman.

Chanting slogans and holding banners and placards, activists and supporters of the party started to come to the rally ground from 12 noon.

The city thoroughfares near the Paltan area had been crowded from 1 PM and all city entry points were full of cars and buses carrying activists of BNP for the showdown, billed biggest after their recent hiccups.   

Ashak Rao, office-in-charge of the traffic control room, told banglanews24.com.bd, “As roads are packed with vehicles and people, we requested all the electronic media to inform the audience and listeners to avoid the roads adjacent to Paltan areas.”

Urging all to follow traffic law in reducing the traffic jam during the rally, he said people might see a little traffic congestion in Mouchak, Sonir Akhra, Badda, Jatrabari and Motijheel areas during the rally.

Dhaka City BNP organized the rally while Dhaka mayor and BNP vice-president Sadeque Hossain Khoka was in the chair.

Security measures against any kind of violence as well as threat have been tightened by deploying some thousand law-enforcers, including police, RAB and intelligence, in and around the venue to make the rally safe and sound.

Earlier, the BNP chief had kicked off her six divisional organizational tours from the port city of Chittagong on March 29 by addressing a grand rally at the historic Laldigihi Maidan.

She addressed her second divisional grand rally at Shibbari crossing in the southern Khulna city on April 18. The third one was organized at Madrassa Maidan in the northwestern
Rajshahi city on 5 May and the 5th rally held at Bangabandhu Udyan in Barisal.


BDST: 1430hrs, May 19, 2010
BK/SRJ/SMS/MUA