21 lakh school kids suffer for hartal
After inflicting mental strain on 21 lakh JSC and JDC candidates, making a dent in the economy, and causing sufferings to millions, the two-day countrywide hartal by Jamaat-e-Islami ends today, at 6:00am.
Of the two days, the last 24-hour lap till 6:00am today was enforced protesting an International Crimes Tribunal's verdict on November 2, awarding the capital punishment to Jamaat moneyman Mir Quashem Ali for crimes against humanity in the 1971 Liberation War.
The preceding 24 hours till 6:00am Thursday were to protest Supreme Court's upholding of the death penalty on another Jamaat leader, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, on November 3.
Except for Tuesday, which was a national holiday for Holy Ashura, Jamaat enforced hartal on all four workdays of the week, mostly concerning 21 lakh class VIII students who were ready to take Junior School Certificate and Junior Dakhil Certificate examinations.
A back to back shutdown for Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday forced the authorities to reschedule the exams on those days, putting an undue mental pressure on the children.
They, however, will be able to sit for their first exam--Bangla First Paper for JSC and Quran Majid and Tajbid for JDC candidates--at 9:00am today across the country.
During yesterday's hartal, Jamaat and its unofficial student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir leaders and activists were not seen in the streets of the capital but they had suddenly ran wild the previous evening torching at least five vehicles and vandalising many in the city and on its outskirts.
As in previous hartal, educational institutions stayed shut yesterday.
However, a large number of vehicles, both public and private, plied in Dhaka city, even causing tailbacks at some intersections. Long queues of vehicles were seen at the refuelling stations throughout the day.
Though some short-distance inter-district buses left the capital, long-distance ones stayed put at the terminals.
The public life in different districts was almost normal, reported our correspondents.
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