Awami League's Dhaka metropolitan wing has instructed its members to 'take positions' in their own areas during the BNP's countrywide shutdown slated for Thursday.
An extended meeting of the organisation on Tuesday gave out the orders that anarchic activities by the opposition were to be stopped and anyone committing arson or vandalism 'captured' and handed over to police.
Metropolitan Awami League general secretary Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya also announced that a rally would be held at Muktangan on Wednesday protesting the daylong general strike to be enforced by BNP to protest against the increase in fuel prices.
"As Awami League members, we cannot accept Jamaat-e-Islami's efforts to create anarchy. The people are looking up to us," Maya said.
He alleged that the clashes between police and BNP's ally Jamaat on Monday were efforts to foil the trial of war crimes. Top leaders of the Islamist party are behind bars facing charges of committing crimes against humanity during the nation's war of independence against Pakistan in 1971..
"The people want war criminals tried and they have faith in this government," Maya said.
Senior Awami League leaders and MPs were also present at the meeting.
Truck fare has increased in the recent price spiral after fuel costs rose from Sunday midnight.
Businessmen fear that essential commodities will also see a rise in prices, set off by the fuel price rise since they are directly related to transport costs. They said that trucks are charging Tk 1,000 to Tk 3,000 more to ferry goods.
The businessmen also admit that the additional charge will have a negative impact on people's buying capacity.
Abdur Razzak, owner of Rashid and Sons in Moulvibazar, told bdnews24.com that earlier it used to cost Tk 17,000 to transport goods from Chittagong to Dhaka by truck. It rose to Tk 20,000 from Sunday.
"I must include the additional costs with my purchase costs. As a result, prices of every kilogram of flour will increase by Tk 1."
Abul Hashem, vice-president of Bangladesh Sugar Merchants Association and owner of Banijyo Bitan in Moulvibazar, told bdnews24.com that they were being charged Tk 800 to 1000 more to transport goods from Meghnaghat.
Another office bearer of the sugar merchants association said one trip from Meghnaghat was costing Tk 5,500, up from the previous Tk 4,500.
He believed the edible oil and sugar prices would rise due to the higher transport charges. "But, the businessmen will not be responsible for the increase," he said.
Jahan Shams Tulu, a spice trader, said spices had not gotten costlier. "But the higher truck fare may have a slight impact."
Mohammad Nasir, a wholesale rice trader of Rangpur, said that the truck fare to transport rice from Rangpur to Dhaka was earlier Tk 14,250, but they were being charged Tk 1000 more from Sunday.
The government on Sunday raised the prices of diesel, kerosene, petrol and octane by Tk 5 a litre and furnace oil by Tk 8, which took effect from Sunday midnight.
Earlier, prices of diesel and kerosene were Tk 46 a litre, petrol Tk 76, octane Tk 79 and furnace oil Tk 42.
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission also raised the price of CNG to Tk 30 the next day. The new CNG price, a 20 percent rise, came into effect from Monday midnight.
A BERC circular on Monday said it hiked the price fearing that some CNG-run transports could raise their fares even though CNG prices had not been raised. This would have caused law and order situation to deteriorate, the circular said.
Meanwhile, the price of feed gas (gas fields to distributors) was raised to Tk 23 from Tk 18. The last CNG price hike was on May 12, by 49.25 percent – to Tk 24.90 from Tk 16.75 per unit.
The government on Monday also increased bus and auto-rickshaw fares. Bus and minibus passengers now have to pay an additional Tk 0.05 paisa per kilometre while CNG-run auto-rickshaw passengers Tk 0.14 per km, according to the revised fares that came into effect Monday midnight.
The fare per km on buses is now Tk 1.60, while on minibuses it is Tk 1.50. The minimum fare on buses (Tk 7) and minibuses (Tk 5) remain unchanged.
As for CNG-run auto-rickshaw fares Tk 25 remain unchanged for the first two kilometres. The recent hike saw fare for the subsequent kilometres go up to Tk 7.64 from Tk 7.50. Waiting charge was also increased by Tk 0.05 to Tk 1.40 per minute.
Auto-rickshaw deposit fee of Tk 600, was not changed either.
The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) will enforce a daylong general strike across the country on Thursday to protest against the increase in fuel prices.
BNP's acting secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday announced the programme at a press conference at the party's Naya Paltan headquarters.
He said they decided to call the strike also against soaring prices of daily commodities, deteriorating law and order, the government's failure to tackle the capital market and detention of opposition activists.
Leaders of the party also said alliance partners Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh Jatiya Party and Islami Okya Jote would separately announce their plans to enforce the strike on the day.
The decision of calling the strike followed a late Monday emergency meeting of the BNP with opposition leader Khaleda Zia in the chair at her Gulshan office in the wake of fuel price hike and the violent clashes between Jamaat-e-Islami activists and the police.
Jamaat activists demanding release of their senior leaders on Monday clashed with police in Dhaka and elsewhere leading to the arrests of dozen of its activists.
The Jamaat activists set fire to several vehicles in Dhaka during the melee as the security officials tried to prevent them from marching through the streets.
Thursday's strike is going to be the seventh general strike called by BNP during the latest rule of the Awami League.
BNP and its political partners had enforced a 48-hour general strike on July 6, 7 and 8 demanding the cancellation of the 15th constitutional amendment and reinstatement of the caretaker government system.
Their first general strike programme was held on June 27, 2010 after the government came into power in January 2009.
Authorities have raised CNG price as a precaution as they believe an inconsistent rise in public transport fares could cause unrest.
A day after the government raised diesel, petrol, octane, kerosene and furnace oil prices, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) also raised the price of CNG to Tk 30 per unit on Monday.
The new price of CNG, a 20 percent rise, was declared to be effective from midnight.
A BERC circular said it hiked the price fearing that some CNG-fuelled transports could raise their fares even though CNG prices had not been raised. This would have caused law and order situation to deteriorate, the circular said.
The circular also explained why the standard procedure for price raise – public hearing – had been overridden for this decision. It said the tariff review process was so lengthy that the government might lose a large amount of revenue before a decision was reached.
State-owned oil-gas and minerals corporation Petrobangla proposed the government a price-hike of Tk 5 on feed gas in the morning. When approved, it sent a proposal to the BERC to raise prices at the consumer level.
The last CNG price hike was on May 12, by 49.25 percent – to Tk 24.90 from Tk 16.75 per unit.
Meanwhile, the price of feed gas (gas fields to distributors) has also been raised to Tk 23 from Tk 18.
The government on Sunday increased prices of all fuels by Tk 5 to Tk 8.
However, the CNG price raise has drawn criticism from many quarters.
CNG filling station and conversion workshop owners' leader Jakir Hossain Nayan told bdnews24.com the filling stations would face losses due to this raise.
Energy expert professor M Shamsul Alam, a teacher of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, said the government raising the price was out of order, as only the regulatory body was vested with that power.
"And not even the BERC can raise prices at their will. They must do it following a standard procedure," he added.
Brac Bank Limited has decided to raise its authorised capital from Tk 4.8 billion to Tk 12 billion.
The Board of Directors of the bank took the decision on Tuesday, according to the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) website.
The bank's paid-up capital amounts to Tk 3.21 billion, reserve Tk 4.56 billion and market capital Tk 15.14 billion.
The bank collected Tk 300 million by offloading three million bonds in 2010.
Its profit after tax from January to June this year was Tk 740 million, which was Tk 650 million in the same period last year.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has urged the United States for allowing duty-free access to Bangladeshi products to its market.
At a luncheon organised jointly by Asia Society and US Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Sheikh Hasina said, "I would urge our good friends in the Congress to play a proactive positive role in granting duty-free access to our products to the US market."
"If the current high tariff on apparel and textile products is waived, it would contribute to our economic development and social transformation, particularly the empowerment of women," she said.
She pointed out that in the garment sector, 85 percent of the workers are women and their contribution is improving children's health and education as well as the overall socio-economic scenario of Bangladesh.
Speaking of the country's investment-friendly policies, Hasina said she is confident that US investors would explore new areas of interest in Bangladesh.
"I assure you all that my government will do its utmost to guarantee that you are comfortable with your businesses in Bangladesh," she said.
"Once our policy of opening up roads, railways, waterways and air to our neighbours is fully implemented, Bangladesh will become a bustling centre of economic activities," she added.
Dwelling upon the investment-friendly policies of Bangladesh, the prime minister said the country offers equal treatment for local and foreign investors, legal protection against nationalisation and expropriation, guarantee for repatriation of capital and dividend, protection of intellectual property rights, corporate tax holidays, concessionary duty on the import of machinery, export subsidies, as well as unrestricted exit policy.
She acknowledged that the US is already the largest investor in Bangladesh, with interests in key areas such as energy, power, manufacturing, insurance, banking and services.
Foreign minister Dipu Moni and Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries president A K Azad were also present at the luncheon.
Prominent US business figures, US Chamber's vice-president Tami Overby, Asia Society president Vishakha Desai and former World Bank president James Wolfensohn also spoke at the event.