Saturday, February 9, 2013
Front Page
Spontaneous support boosts rally organisers
Spontaneous support boosts rally organisers
Expatriates in South Carolina in the USA hold their own demonstration there to demand death penalty for war criminals of the Liberation War and to express solidarity with the movement in Bangladesh yesterday. Photo: Courtesy Helemul Alam
People of all walks of life have been bringing food and water for the demonstrators at Shahbagh intersection to lift the spirit of the movement aimed at ensuring capital punishment to war criminals.
The movement, which was started by Bloggers and Online Activist Network on the evening of February 5, is still going strong. People are not only joining the movement to express solidarity but also bringing whatever they can for the protesters.
"It is indeed a great feeling. People out of sheer love are bringing food, like hotchpotch, biriani, puffed rice, biscuits, chocolates, fruits and drinking water. This is a huge encouragement for us," said General Secretary of Bloggers and Online Activist Network Mahmudul Haque Munshi Badhon.
He said their online group took to the street with no financial support whatsoever. So to meet the first day's necessaries they had to raise Tk 43,000 as donation from the protestors.
"But since then people have been helping us spontaneously. We received 1,000 packets of hotchpotch for lunch today [Friday] from a businessman," he said.
"I have brought some dry food and drinking water for the youths, who have been demonstrating here for the last four days, because I could not give much time here like they did," said a private job holder wishing anonymity.
The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University unit of Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad has been providing primary treatment and free medicine, while Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) have been supplying water in lorries for the protesters.
The DSCC has also arranged four mobile public toilets for the demonstrators' convenience.