At least 30 major establishments, including the main building of Bangladesh Television, two metro rail stations, Khaja Tower, hub of the city’s internet data cables, Setu Bhaban along with the vehicles of police and BGB were torched and severely damaged by protesters during the anti-quota movement on Thursday and Friday last.
The miscreants launched arson attacks also on other different government and political party offices, police stations-outposts and toll plazas during the two-day violent protests in the capital and other parts of the country, according to police and civil defence sources.
The rowdy protesters with lethal weapons broke open the main gate of the BTV station, a major KPI, in the city’s Rampura around 2.45pm on Thursday and set ablaze a part of the building, engulfing also the main Bhaban forcing the authorities to suspend the BTV transmission, said BTV general manager Mahafuza Aktar.
“All officials-employees had to leave the building around 7.30pm,” she added.
Fire Service and Civil Defence duty officer Khaleda Yeasmin said two fire engines went to the BTV station but were resisted by the protesters from entering.
Another major establishment-the Department of Disaster Management in the capital’s Mohakhali was set on fire by violent protesters. The fire badly damaged the cables of some data centres located in an adjacent building snapping the internet connections.
Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh president Emdadul Haque said the centres lost at least 30 percent of their total bandwidth because of the damaged cables.
In the evening, the Setu Bhaban, an important government installation, was set on fire, damaging dozens of vehicles parked in front of the building, said an official of the Bridges Division. The ground floor of the building was totally vandalized, he added.
At least three police outposts in Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi-27 and Mirpur in the capital were vandalized by the protesters.
They set fire on one police vans in Uttara, said Additional Deputy Commissioner (Uttara division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Towhidul Islam.
A vehicle of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) came under attack in Hatijheel around 6 pm and protesters at one stage set the vehicle on fire.
The violent protesters also launched attack on the Banani toll plaza of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway and set it on fire.
On Wednesday evening, a group of demonstrators torched the toll plaza of the Mayor Mohammad Hanif Flyover in Jatrabari in the city.
In Madaripur, protestors set ablaze a police outpost and vandalised the offices of the superintendent of police and deputy commissioner.
The protesters also set fire to a police outpost near the Madaripur launch terminal and the district Awami League office, according to police sources.
Sources in the Fire Service and Civil Defence said they received information of at least 33 violence-related fire incidents across the country from July 17 to July 18 midnight. Twenty-three of those incidents took place in the Dhaka city corporation area.
The fire service sources said that at least five vehicles of their department were damaged and four staffers suffered injuries.
