BNP brings life to a standstill in Bangladesh with 84-hour-long strike

The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party's (BNP's) 84-hour-long nation-wide strike will end at 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday.

The strike, marked by sporadic incidents of violence, brought life to a complete standstill.

BNP activists hurled bombs at buses, torched and vandalised vehicles and fought cops during the strike-cum-shutdown.

"It was like wading through a morass of violence. We were watching people getting burnt and dying every day. You know you can die at any moment. Yet, you must join your work to earn a square meal for your family," the Daily Star quoted banker Nasim Reza, as saying while he was on the way to his Gulshan office on Tuesday.

People were literally confined to their homes during the shutdown. Some, however, were desperate enough to venture out to get their daily jobs done.

At least 39 people were injured across the country. Nine passengers sustained burn injuries the Rayerbagh area.

Seven vehicles were torched in Mirpur-12, Rayerbagh, Abdullahpur, Bahadur Shah Park, Uttara and Dhamrai of Savar.

Some stray incidents of clashes, vandalism, arson and explosions of crude bombs have been reported in different parts of the country.