The national election of December 30 has turned the life of Mofiz Uddin upside down -- and all for supporting BNP.

From a decent tea-shop vendor at Rabeya market of Bonkishore village in Rajshahi's Tanore upazila, the 48-year old man now works on a potato field.

“I have been a dedicated BNP worker since the 90s,” Mofiz said. “If I have committed a crime, it would be my engagement with BNP.”

In a tin-roofed earthen room under a Koroi tree at the market, Mofiz started the shop and ran it for over the last 20 years.

Furnished with a television, eight chairs, five tables, four benches and a few racks of bakery items, sweets and groceries, his tea-shop fetched him around Tk 3,000 a day to support his family of seven.

On December 21, Mofiz joined the election campaign for BNP candidate Aminul Haq when the latter went to Pachondor union.

Later that evening, a group of stick wielding men went to the market and ransacked the outside of his tea-shop, according to eye-witnesses.

“The attackers were outsiders, not known to me,” said a local businessman.

“I heard about the attack on my shop when I reached home, after campaigning that day,” said Mofiz. A friend of his called him from the market and told him to hide as the attackers were looking for him.

Until polls day, local AL men used the tea-shop as the election office of Awami League candidate Omor Faruk Chowdhury.

“Two days after the election ended, some local AL workers damaged what was left of the shop, including the earthen room, tin-roof, furniture, television, and everything else inside.”

Locals told this correspondent that they heard the AL men would build a party office in that place.

When contacted, Reaz Uddin, president of AL unit at Pachondor ward-2, said, “We are yet to decide on building our office there. If not an office, we may construct a passengers' shed that will come to the use of many.”

He said the land was 'khas' and Mofiz had been illegally occupying it.

On the identity of the attackers, he said, “Nobody knows them. They were wearing helmets and came to the village on motorcycles.”

He denied that it was local AL men who had damaged the shop after the election.

“It was Mofiz's brother, nephew and son who damaged the shop,” he said. On why Mofiz's own relatives would damage the shop, Reaz did not have an explanation.

When contacted, Rajshahi Superintendent of Police Md Shahidullah said they had not heard about the incident.

“We will investigate all allegations of post-election violence,” said the SP, adding that police circulated a message in the district so that no one would spread fear among others over feuds during the election.

Upon losing his source of income, Mofiz began work as day labourer on the potato fields to make ends meet, earning a mere Tk 300 a day.

“I am living in fear. I could not even go see the condition of my shop, the one I so dearly built from scratch,” he said. 

Police evicted protesters demanding fresh election under a non-partisan caretaker government in front of Jatiya Press Club this morning.

Around 40 to 50 people under the banner of ‘National Unity for Franchise and Good Governance’ formed a human chain around 11:00am demanding re-election under a neutral caretaker government, our staff correspondent reports from the spot.

However, police evicted the protesters soon after they gathered there and snatched their banner, said ABM Mostofa Amin, the convener of the platform.

“We cannot accept the kind of rigging that took place in the 11th parliamentary elections. We demand a fresh election be held under a non-partisan caretaker government immediately,” he said.

He alleged that police foiled their peaceful demonstration with a “logical demand”.

THE ELECTION RESULT

The Awami League-led Grand Alliance secured a landslide victory in the national election held on Sunday, December 30, winning in 288 out of 300 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad.

HOW WAS THE ELECTION?

Voting for the 11th parliamentary election ended peacefully in Dhaka; but was tainted with violence elsewhere across the country and cost the lives of at least a dozen people.

Reports of casualties came in from Cumilla, Chattogram, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Rangamati, Cox’s Bazar, Bogura, Noakhali, Narsingdi and Gazipur.

Allegations of vote rigging, election clashes, intimidation and irregularities came in from several other constituencies and capital Dhaka city.

Also, the election saw opposition candidates boycotting elections in at least 43 constituencies; 42 of who were Jatiya Oikyafront runners.

Photo: Sheikh Mehedi Morshed, Orchid Chakma, Prabir Das, Amran Hossain, Sk Enamul Haq

A presiding officer brings out the ballot papers for a voter who uses a wheelchair at Dania College centre in the capital's Jatrabari. Many people with disabilities faced difficulties casting votes as most of the centres were not disabled-friendly.

A police team outside a voting centre in Narayanganj.

Shamim Osman, AL's candidate for Narayanganj-4, sips a cup of tea while exchanging greetings with voters outside a polling centre in Dharmaganj area.

Two first-time voters show off their ink covered thumbs after voting at Avoy Bonodini High School in the capital's Rajarbagh.

Urdu-speaking voters make their way to a voting centre at Dhaka Residential Model College in the capital.

A crowd gathers outside the polling centre at Madhubagh Madrasa in the capital after the Awami League men shut the gate and refused to let anyone in.

Voters checking their phones for their voter numbers at Ali Ahmed Majumder School and College in Dhaka's Goran. Many were turned away after failing to find the number.

Four more former ministers, who were dropped from Sheikh Hasina's new cabinet, have been made chiefs of the same number of parliamentary standing committees last night.

With Leader of the House Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's approval, Chief Whip Noor-E-Alam Chowdhury proposed the names of the committees and the members in accordance with the Rules of Procedure.

The Jatiya Sangsad, with Deputy Speaker M Fazley Rabbi Mia in the chair, unanimously adopted the proposal by voice votes.

Former information minister Hasanul Haq Inu was made chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the information ministry. The other members of the committee are Golam Mohammad Kader, Kazi Keramat Ali, Begum Simin Hossen Rimi, Shafiqur Rahman, Saimun Sarwar Kamol, Akbar Hossen Pathan Faruque and Ibadul Karim.

Former housing and public works minister Mosharraf Hossen was made chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Housing and Public Works. The other members are Narayan Chandra Chanda, Alhaz Dabirul Islam, Bazlul Haq Haroon, Zillul Hakim, AKM Selim Osman, Monwar Hossen Chowdhury and Anwarul Ashraf Khan.

Former environment, forest and climate change minister Anisul Islam Mahmud will head the parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment, with Prof Ali Ashraf, Moazzem Hossen Ratan, Mrinal Kanti Das, Didarul Alam, Begum Ayesha Ferdous, Pankaj nath, Sadeque Khan and Iqbal Hossen as members of the committee.

Former state minister for labour Mujibul Haq Chunnu was made chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the labour and employment ministry, while other members are Shajahan Khan, Qamrul Islam, Shamim Osman, Israfil Alam, Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, Manu Majumder and Iqbal Hossen.

Awami League MP and former state minister for home M Shamsul Haq Tuku was made chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the home ministry. Members of the committee are Afsarul Amin, Habibur Rahman, Shamsul Alam Dudu, Kuzendra Lal Tripura, Faridul Haq Khan, Pir Fazlur Rahman and Nur Mohammad.

The House last night also formed a parliamentary standing committee on the railway ministry with AL MP ABM Fazley Karim Chowdhury as its chief. The other members of the committee are Asaduzzaman Noor, Shafiqul Islam Shimul, Shafiqul Azam Khan, Saifuzzaman, HM Ibrahim, Nasimul Alam Chowdhury and Gazi Shahnewaz.

A total of 24 parliamentary standing committees have so far been formed in the last four sessions of the JS.

A parliamentary body today asked the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) to set up necessary number of water hydrants in the capital city to fight fire accident.

The parliamentary standing committee on disaster management and relief affairs ministry came up with the recommendations at a meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

“Wasa officials who were present at the meeting assured the committee that they will take immediate measures to establish water hydrants in Dhaka,” ruling Awami League MP Panchanam Biswas, a member of the parliamentary watchdog, told The Daily Star.

He also said setting up of necessary number of water hydrants will help fire fighters to fight in case of any major fire accident as Dhaka has almost no water bodies.

Asked Professor Nazrul Islam, chairman of Centre for Urban Studies (CUS), said the Jatiya Sangsad committee’s recommendation is a positive initiative. “But it has to be established in a coordinated manner.”

He also said Rajuk and Fire Service and Civil Defense will have to be included in the process to determine the number of water hydrants and where it should be constructed.

Prof Nazrul also said the nature of water hydrant will have to be determined on the basis of the types of houses and buildings of any particular place.

There is no pond or any other water bodies in the city. Fire fighters often use water reservoir of different buildings to control fire.

“That’s why setting up of water hydrant in a planned manner will be useful for fire service staffs to tackle fire incident,” he said. 

Iqbal Habib, joint secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon said water hydrant would not yield any good result if it is set up in an unplanned manner like dustbins in Dhaka.