Arsonists torched three buses in the capital's Dhanmondi, Mirpur, and Gulistan in the span of just 90 minutes last night, on the eve of BNP's dawn-to-dusk blockade.

A moving bus was set ablaze by arsonists on a motorcycle around 9:45pm, in front of Dhanmondi 9 on the Mirpur Road, Dhanmondi Police Station Officer-in-Charge Parvez Alam told The Daily Star.

Police seized the motorcycle, however, the miscreants fled the scene.

In Mirpur 13, a parked bus of Trust Transport Services was set on fire around 10:30pm in front of Farmers Bank, said Kafrul Police OC Farukul Alam.

On information, two fire engines went to the spot and brought the fire under control at 10:52pm, said Ahsan Habib, duty officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence control room.

In Gulistan, a bus of Rajanigandha Paribahan was set on fire beside Gulistan toll plaza around 9:15pm.

Two fire engines of Siddique Bazar Fire Station rushed to the spot and doused the blaze around 9:27pm, said Rashid Bin Khaled, duty officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence control room.

There were no reports of casualties in the fires.

After a break of 10 days, the BNP and like-minded parties are again going to enforce a day-long road, rail, and waterway blockade across the country today to press home their demand for an inclusive election under a neutral interim government, reports UNB.

It will be the 12th round of the blockade programme of the opposition parties since October 31, and the first one since the announcement of their non-cooperation movement against the government on December 20.

The blockade will begin at six in the morning and end at seven in the evening.

Speaking at a virtual press briefing, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi called upon the country's people and the supporters of BNP and other opposition parties to observe the programme.

Vehicles of the newspapers or media, ambulances, and vehicles transporting oxygen cylinders and medicines will remain out of the purview of the blockade.

Rizvi said the fresh blockade programme is also meant to mount pressure on the government to quit, annul the election schedule for the 12th parliamentary polls, and release party leaders and activists, including its Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

He said other opposition parties, who have long been carrying out the simultaneous movement with the BNP, will also observe a similar programme.

Rizvi, on behalf of BNP, thanked the leaders of the opposition parties who conducted mass campaigns on December 21, 22, and 23 by distributing leaflets in different parts of the country urging people to boycott the "lopsided" election slated for January 7 and to drum up public support in favour of the non-cooperation movement.

Earlier, the opposition parties last enforced a 36-hour blockade across the country beginning on December 12.

BNP, along with nearly three dozen opposition political parties, have been carrying out a simultaneous movement to force the current government to quit and hold the 12th parliamentary election under a non-party neutral administration.

BNP's movement lost its momentum following clashes with law enforcers during the party's grand rally on October 28 as many senior leaders, including its secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, were arrested while many others went into hiding in the face of a crackdown by the law enforcers.

However, BNP and like-minded parties enforced countrywide blockades for 22 days in 11 phases and hartals for five days in four spells since October 29.

Finally, the opposition party came up with the call for a non-cooperation movement on December 20.