Normal life and business, however, remained largely halted yesterday, the third day of the third-phase blockade enforced by the 14-party to press home their demand of Election Commission reconstitution.

An attack on Jatiya Party men by Islami Chhatra Shibir and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal at Bijoynagar left at least 22 injured, and a bus helper died after he fell from his bus that was chased by blockaders in Mirpur yesterday.

No other incident of violence was reported from anywhere in the country.

The demonstrators sang patriotic and parody songs and danced with beats of drums the whole day, expecting Chief Election Commissioner MA Aziz would resign or go into leave as leaders of the demonstration -- spearheaded by Awami League-led 14-party alliance and joined later by Jatiya Oikya Front and Jatiya Party -- were delivering speeches from a bijoy mancha (victory stage) set up at Zero Point and 20 others podiums in the city.

A good number of general people who were seen at different blockade points yesterday expressed their frustration for continuation of the blockade. They, however, expressed hope for restoration of normalcy from today amid speculation of the CEC's resignation by last night.

Train services were disrupted due to blockades at rail stations and on rail tracks in some parts of the country but launch services operated smoothly at many places.

Activities at the land ports were hampered.

THE CAPITAL
As on the previous two days, blockaders took position at around 22 different points in the city to block vehicular movement in the morning. They set up makeshift podiums on trucks and on streets at many places.

Cultural activists started with patriotic songs before political leaders joined them and started their speeches. They continued the songs, parodying popular folk songs, criticising the CEC's 'shamelessness' whole daylong during intervals of the leaders' speeches to invigorate their fellow demonstrators.

The participants also staged mock dramas and read out satires at some places. They also burnt CEC's effigy.

Amid festivity at the blockade points, the participants showed expressions of victory.

Bangabandhu Avenue, Zero Point and Muktangon area was the heart of the blockade programmes and festivity streaming from it.

Police put up barricades at the entrance of Muktangon where the four-party alliance earlier announced to hold a rally yesterday.

The police barricade was later withdrawn and alliance adherents attended the rally.

Shibir activists gathered at the north gate of Baitul Mokarram mosque at 11:00am and held a rally there blocking the Paltan-Motijheel road.

While a procession of JCD and Shibir was marching to Muktangon area, they attacked JP leaders and activists near a JP stage set up at Bijoynagar. Twenty-two people including JP leader Kazi Jafar Ahmed were injured during the incident. Rab and police quickly controlled the situation.

City wing of AL and its front organisations, Jatiya Mohila Jote, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Gono Forum, Workers Party of Bangladesh, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Shramik Malik Oikya Jote, Liberal Democratic Party, Islami Oikya Jote, Jaker Party and Jatiya Party held rallies on Bangabandhu Avenue.

The number of motorised vehicles on the streets increased further from the morning yesterday.

"We don't think there will be any violence," Rafiqul Islam, driver of a Motijheel-bound bus, told this correspondent at Abdullahpur bus stand in Uttara in the morning.

The number of passengers also increased noticeably at all the bus stoppages and several of them said they had no alternative to defying the blockade. "My office considered the situation the first couple of days. But is it possible to remain absent at offices for days together?" NGO worker AKM Azad said at Mohakhali when he was going to his office at Gulshan-2.

Despite the increase in the number of passenger buses on the streets, rickshaws, CNG-run three-wheelers and taxicabs predominated the streets where there was no blockade.

No long-route bus left Gabtoli and Sayedabad bus terminals during the last three days while only three buses left for Mymensingh from Mohakhali bus terminal on insistence from passengers.

In Mirpur, blockaders chased a Gulistan-bound bus when it reached near Mirpur-10 roundabout at 10:30am. As a brickbat thrown by the chasers hit helper Babu in the face, he fell down from the bus, witnesses said. He was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead.

Mirpur police, however, said Babu was run over by a microbus when he was crossing the road hurriedly after getting down from his bus as pickets were chasing the bus.

COUNTRY
The blockade programme was observed peacefully in different districts while it added to people's sufferings.

Ten trains remained halted at Rajshahi railway station, two at Sreepur and Kawsa in Gazipur and five in Brahmanbaria.

No bus plied on Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Sylhet routes while no vehicle plied over the Jamuna Bridge.