Rangpur Correspondent/

Rangpur City Collectorate Eidgah ground tomorrow BNP departmental mass meeting. Leaders and activists have started coming to the gathering place since Friday morning. Due to the two-day bus strike, activists left as early as possible. In the meantime, many have reached the gathering place. Slogans like ‘Chalo chalo, Rangpur chalo’, ‘Who says re Zia nai, Zia is in Bangla’ etc.

In addition to this, many have stayed in residential hotels, hostels, relatives, relatives and relatives in different upazilas outside Rangpur city.

Even on Friday, the work of making the stage was going on at the Collectorate Eidgah ground. All districts, upazilas, municipalities, unions and even ward-villages of the division including Rangpur city have been covered with BNP posters, banners and festoons. In the meantime, many activists are appearing to participate in the Rangpur mass meeting on foot.

General Secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is scheduled to attend the mass meeting of BNP as the chief guest. Besides, members of the party’s standing committee, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Begum Selima Rahman, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, Vice Chairman Dr. AZM Zahid Hossain, Joint Secretary General and Member of Parliament Harun Or Rashid, Rangpur Divisional Organizing Secretary Principal Asadul Habib Dulu and central and divisional BNP leaders and organ organizations are said to be present. BNP leaders say, Rangpur divisional rally will be a clean rally. All arrangements have been made to ensure the biggest attendance of the festival.

Samsuzzaman Samu, convenor of Rangpur Mahanagar BNP, said, “Even if the police try, they cannot stop the flow of people. People have started coming from different districts and upazilas to the gathering place. However, we have complaints, even though the leaders and activists have not been detained or arrested, inquiries are being made about the leaders and activists by various intelligence agencies of the government.

Meanwhile, the police administration is keeping a strict vigil to prevent any kind of vandalism or disorder surrounding the BNP rally in Rangpur. Rangpur Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner (Crime) Abu Maruf Hesen said that since Friday morning, special police teams have been scattered across the district.

Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Noore Alam Meena told reporters that they are monitoring the situation, based on intelligence information they are ready to prevent any kind of violence. He further said, ‘In order that provocation or any kind of tension does not turn into a conflict, the police in white clothes are working in the city and around the gathering places along with the intelligence agencies. The policemen should handle the situation with patience and not step into any provocation. More than 1500 policemen have been kept ready. What to do under what circumstances has been informed in advance.’

On the other hand, the Rangpur District Motor Owners Association has called a transport strike two days before the rally. The strike will continue from 6 am on Friday to 6 pm on Saturday to demand stoppage of illegal traffic. Although the strike was called on Friday, the movement of vehicles on the roads has been restricted since Thursday.

District Motor Owners Association President AK M Mozammel Haque said, “The government has made the law in view of the demands of the transport owners for the safety of the highways. But various illegal vehicles are still plying on the highways of Rangpur including Nachiman, Karimon, Bhatavti. Accidents often happen because of this. In such a situation, we have called a transport strike on all the roads of Rangpur in order to stop the movement of these vehicles on the highway.