A Hartal Day in Bangladesh

In modern strife torn state hartal has become a common affair. We are quite familiar with it. We have got used to it. It is the rightful demand of the political parties. It is observed at the call of a political party or parties to press their demand to the ruling political party. The opposition political parties observe hartal to protest against the corruption, misuse of power and the evil deeds of the ruling party. Sometimes students and people of a locality call hartal to express their demands. On a hartal day normal course of life is stopped. All hectic activities of the day come to a standstill. All means of transport and vehicles do not move on the roads. Rickshaws are seen few and far between. Picketers are very active on a hartal day. They burn old tyres on the road to stop the movement of the vehicles. People are to take a lot of troubles to attend their offices. They go on foot as vehicles are not available. As a result the attendance is very negligible in the offices, factories, industries and shops. The roads look desolate. The economy of the country suffers a heavy loss. Mills, factories and industries stop their work. All the business centers, markets and shops remain closed. The banks can not operate any transactions. The supporters in favour of hartal bring out procession. Often clashed occur between the police and the picketers Sometimes clashes take place between the supporters of the Opposition and the ruling political parties which result in some deaths. The police patrol the towns. They are employed on important points thought the cities and town. They are employed to prevent any sort of violence and avert unwanted events. Nevertheless, sometimes untoward incidents take place. They charge batons and lob tear gases to disperse the agitated mob. Sometime there is chase and counter chase. At times the sounds of crackers and bomb explosion are heard. The angry mob set fire on vehicles and shops. On hartal day the sufferings of the people know no bound.