City services to stop unless Ishraque made mayor tomorrow: unions

In a show of solidarity with supporters of BNP leader Ishraque Hossain, representatives of a number of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) employees' unions have declared a complete suspension of all public services provided to city residents from tomorrow.

The presidents and secretaries of four employees' unions announced that all civic services under DSCC, including essential operations such as waste management, waste transportation and electricity services, will remain halted until further notice if a decision isn't made on handing over mayoral responsibilities to Ishraque Hossain by 10:00am tomorrow, according to a press release.

The unions who declared solidarity with the demands are Scavenger and Workers' Union, Transport Drivers and Workers' Union, Electricity Workers' Social Welfare Committee, and 4th Class Workers' Social Welfare Committee.

In the same press release, supporters of Ishraque Hossain have also announced to enforce a shutdown of Dhaka if a formal declaration is not issued by tomorrow, officially handing over mayoral responsibilities to him.

In addition, they plan to stage another sit-in protest in front of Nagar Bhaban from 10:00am tomorrow.

The programme was announced by Moshiur Rahman, a former secretary and organiser of the platform Dhakabashi, under whose banners the protester have been organised.

The developments came as part of an ongoing protest that has entered its sixth day, following a court verdict and subsequent gazette notification that recognised Ishraque as the mayor of DSCC.