Affrontement à Keraniganj (Dhaka) – 26 janvier 2011

Clashes leave 30 injured

thedailystar.net

27 01 2011

20 vehicles, 30 shops vandalised

Clashes between supporters of Arial Beel Rakkha Committee and police left at least 30 people injured, and 20 vehicles and 30 shops vandalised in Dhaka and Munshiganj yesterday.

The flare-up was caused when police tried to prevent the supporters from joining a rally at Muktangon in the capital in protest at the proposed Bangabandhu International Airport over parts of Arial Beel.

Police stopped them at different spots including Postagola, Babubazar and Zero Point in the capital and Sree Nagar, Sholaghar, Nawabganj and Kuchiamora in Munshiganj. Thousands had got on buses to get to the rally from Munshiganj.

Our Munshiganj correspondent reports: About 20 people including police officers were injured and 20 vehicles were vandalised in Sholaghar in a clash between police and the demonstrators.

The injured were later admitted to nearby health complex.

Police hurled at least 16 cans of tear gas to disperse the agitators. The traffic on Dhaka-Mawa Highway was suspended for about two and a half hours.

Superintendent of Police of Munshiganj Safiqul Islam said, “People became agitated when they heard that a group of people beat up one of the bus drivers. They chased the group and put barricades on the highway.”

Officer of a fire station in Munshiganj Nurul Alam Dulal said locals vandalised a vehicle of the fire brigade when it rushed to douse a fire on a bus.

Saidur Rahman Sayeed, member secretary of the Dhaka chapter of the committee, said they had permission from Dhaka City Corporation and Dhaka Metropolitan Police to hold the rally at Muktangon.

Police claimed that they had no permission. Read more…

Supporters of Arial Beel Rakkha Committee demonstrate south of the Buriganga Bridge in Keraniganj on Dhaka-Mawa Highway after police prevented them from joining a rally at Muktangon protesting the proposed Bangabandhu International Air Port over an area of the wetland. Photo: STARStaff Correspondent