That danger lurks in the streets during a blockade is no news, especially in big cities. Images of vehicles in flames or violent street battles or agonising cries of victims having no link with politics flood television screens and newspaper pages in times of blockades, injecting fear in citizens. Those terrifying images, however, could hardly stop people from coming out on the streets yesterday.
"We know the consequences out there, but we have to take the risk for our livelihood. We are fed up with the violent politics that leaves us helpless on the road. Yet life does not stop," said aggrieved Abdus Salam, a businessman in Paltan area. Reflecting Salam's words, Dhaka on the second day of BNP's indefinite countrywide blockade was seen to get back to normality. People stepped out on Dhaka streets in their thousands in desperate bids to get their daily jobs done. More vehicles plied the city thoroughfares with moderate congestion hampering traffic movement at some points. Most businesses, offices and roadside shops went about their jobs normally. Children too were seen to be going to schools. A sense of fear and tension nonetheless was all-pervading. "The streets may turn into battle fields all of a sudden. It is indeed frightening to take my daughter to school. Whenever we see people clustering together in a place, my daughter looks scared," said Shormy Rahman, a mother in the capital's Indira Road. Advertisement "Sometime I ask my daughter to stay home. Although a new academic year has begun, she is yet to concentrate on her studies. She is confused as to what to do," said the mother, whose daughter studies at Holy Cross High School. More than four crore primary to secondary level students are beset with political uncertainty at the beginning of their new year. They received new textbooks but could not start their classes properly. Though many schools have remained open despite the blockade, presence of students is thin. "If students turn up, we take classes. But their attendance is still less than what is expected," Shahan Ara Begum, principal of Motijheel Ideal School and College, told The Daily Star yesterday. Gaffar Mia's case was no different. A tea vendor at Ramna, he had to run the risk of keeping his stall open for it was his bread and butter. "The business has been bad for the last two days as number of customers dropped. However, I've got more customers today [yesterday] than the previous two days," he said. Abid Islam, too, had a little respite yesterday. A private banker, he had found it difficult on Monday and Tuesday to get to his Gulshan office from his Mirpur residence. He had to change vehicles thrice and then walk quite a distance to reach his office. But it was a pretty smooth journey yesterday. Only his nerves remained stretched all the way. "I had to spend Tk 150 to 200 to go to my office on the first two days of the blockade because I had to take rickshaws and a CNG-run three-wheeler to make it to my office. But today I've got a direct bus to Gulshan-2. Then I walked to my office," he said. "We saw some violent fighting on television. It scares me. Yet I have no alternative as I need to attend my office. The politicians have made daily lives of people like us very difficult." Abid had another fear. His wife works at a bank at Karwan Bazar. "I remain anxious about her safety and security," he added. Rafiq Mia, a rickshaw puller, has been going through some difficulty for the last few days. He was sitting idle in the Naya Paltan area, waiting for a passenger. "Obviously it feels risky to pull rickshaws these days, but what should I do? I find it hard to make ends meet if I don't work everyday," he said. Just a few faces away, another rickshaw puller was waiting. His problem is a bit different than Rafiq Mia's. "I don't feel good staying in Dhaka amid this situation. I want to go home but all bus services to my Gaibandha home have been suspended," he said. Apart from the common people, businessmen are also facing difficulties in running their business due to the blockade. "Nobody has security during a blockade. Businessmen have been running their daily works with fear and apprehension," said Helal Uddin, vice-president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI). "Passenger buses and good-laden trucks are getting burned everyday. Such incidents are causes of concern for common people as well as businessmen. "We want relief from this situation for the smooth running of our business," Helal said.
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