DHAKA: Hundreds of thousands of people formed a 900 km-human chain across Bangladesh to show "no confidence" in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led coalition government.

Leaders and workers of the Awami League and its allies stood hand-in-hand to form the cross-country human chain from southeast Teknaf to northwest Tentulia for an hour Saturday (Dec 11) afternoon.

The government had mapped out strict security measures, deploying thousands of paramilitary troopers and police forces, to ward off any violence.

The opposition demanded the stepping down of the government led by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, paving the way for a mid-term election.

However, Khaleda Zia brushed aside the demand.

The organisers, including some left parties, claimed that more than five million people had joined the programme.

The opposition parties accused the Khaleda Zia government of corruption, harassment of political rivals and failure to run the country properly.

"The government has utterly failed and does not have any right to remain in power," said Abdul Jalil, general secretary of the Awami League - the largest opposition party in parliament.

Courtesy Indo-Asian News Service