Services stay halted as protest enters 12th day

After halting all services at Nagar Bhaban for the past 12 days, supporters of BNP leader Ishraque Hossain have threatened to launch a tougher movement within 24 hours if their demand is not met.

Following a day-long demonstration yesterday, protesters warned they would escalate their movement if the oath-taking process does not begin within the timeframe.

However, they did not clarify what the "intense protest" would involve. A source among the protesters said they might once again march towards Jamuna, the residence of the chief adviser, to press their demand.

Former secretary Mashiur Rahman, chief coordinator of the protest, made the announcement during the sit-in at Nagar Bhaban yesterday afternoon.

"We gave a 48-hour ultimatum, of which 24 hours have passed without any response. If Ishraque Hossain is not sworn in within the next 24 hours, we will begin a tougher movement. The people of Dhaka will bring him to office through protests," he said.

He said while the protest remains peaceful, essential services, particularly those under the cleanliness department, would remain unaffected. Workers would be allowed to collect and use equipment to maintain urgent civic services.

The protest began at 10:00am, involving Ishraque's supporters and a large number of workers from the city corporation's labour union, effectively stopping all public services at Nagar Bhaban and causing significant inconvenience.

This movement started on May 14 and was temporarily paused after an earlier 48-hour ultimatum was issued to the government.

Meanwhile, Ishraque's lawyer has served a reminder notice to the secretary of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (LGRD), demanding that Ishraque be sworn in as the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation by yesterday.

The notice was sent yesterday, following a previous legal notice issued on May 21.

In the notice, Barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, also a BNP leader and president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, said legal action would be taken against the LGRD secretary if the oath is not administered in accordance with the law.

In a separate development, a leave to appeal petition was filed with the Supreme Court, challenging a High Court order that upheld a Dhaka tribunal's verdict and the Election Commission's decision declaring Ishraque as mayor of DSCC.

Mamunur Rashid, who had earlier filed a petition against the Election Commission's gazette notification and the tribunal's judgement, submitted the appeal. His lawyer, Mohammad Hossain Lipu, said the petition seeks a stay on both the tribunal verdict and the EC's notification.