Leaders of the coalition, which has been demonstrating to compel the government to concede to its demand for electoral reforms, fear widespread confrontations between the law enforcers and coalition activists during the scheduled 9:00am to 3:00pm Dhaka siege as they allege that the law enforcers have already begun rounding them up from different parts of the capital.

Police sources also admitted that they are already in a move to arrest opposition leaders and activists in different parts of the city to ensure low turnout at the Dhaka siege programme. They said around 15,000 law enforcers will be deployed at different strategic points in and around the capital to maintain law and order on the day.

Meanwhile, the opposition leaders said they will retaliate if the law enforcers try to obstruct the programme. "We will not move back if the police obstruct us on June 11," a senior leader of the coalition said.

The coalition held a preparatory meeting at the central office of AL in the capital yesterday.

"The government has begun arresting our leaders and activists in a bid to foil the Dhaka siege," 14-party coordinator Abdul Jalil said. He said the coalition will start vigorous street demonstrations if the government does not stop arresting and harassing opposition activists.

Jalil, also AL general secretary, said the Dhaka siege programme is intended to be peaceful, which aims to bring the capital and its surrounding areas to a total standstill demanding electoral reform in order to establish peoples' rights through a free and fair election in the country. He said, "If the government tries to foil the programme, we will face it politically."

"We will lay siege to the capital peacefully which is our democratic right. But if the government use its law enforcement agencies to foil our peaceful programme, we will be forced to announce tougher programmes including hartal," AL Presidium Member Kazi Zafrullah MP also a close aide to AL President Sheikh Hasina told The Daily Star.

Earlier Mohammad Nasim MP at a 14-party rally at the city's Mohammadpur area on May 29 threatened to enforce up to seven-day countrywide hartal if the government uses law enforcers to foil the Dhaka siege.

The coalition intends to gather people from different parts of the country as well as from the capital on June 11.

As part of the mobilisation campaign, Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to start a series of exchange of views meetings with her party's district units' top leaders from today. She will hold meetings with the top leaders of different districts, upazilas, municipalities and ward units of the Dhaka division until June 8.

The opposition coalition chose 10 points in and around the city to set up roadblocks during its Dhaka siege. The points are the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway at Kanchpur, Sadarghat, Keraniganj, Postagola, Savar, Amin Bazar, Gabtoli, Tongi, Ashulia and Kamalapur.

The coalition held preparatory meetings in the last couple of days with its district and city leaders, and finalised a strategy for the June 11 siege.

Although it announced laying siege to the capital, it will virtually besiege all the adjacent districts too.

Its leaders directed its district units to set up barricades in their respective areas so that no vehicle may proceed towards the capital on the day.

According to the directives, the Tangail district unit is to put up two obstructions in the district, Munshiganj unit is to put up three, and some other district units that have been asked to put up barricades are as follows, Manikganj two, Narayanganj three, Narshindhi three, Gazipur two, Bhramanbaria two, Mymensing two and Comilla two.

"The senior leaders asked us to put up roadblocks near the Tangail bypass so that no vehicle may go towards the Bangabandhu Bridge on June 11," Fazlur Rahman Farook, general secretary of the Tangail district unit of AL told The Daily Star.

They also directed the city unit leaders to take to the streets in every thana and ward in the capital to bring the entire city to a standstill.

With a view to flooding the city with a human sea, the opposition coalition will also assemble at different strategic points in the capital including at Paltan, Motijheel, Science Laboratory, Lalbag, Mohakhali, Uttara, Mirpur, Gabtoli, and other places.

The 14-party will sit with the transport sector leaders and different professional bodies to mobilise a large number of people and to ensure that no vehicle even no rickshaw will operate on the streets on the day.

Leaders of Bangladesh Rickshaw and Van Malik Sramik Sangram Parishad have already threatened to enforce a transport strike on June 11 in the capital if their 7-point charter of demands, which includes providing owners' licences to 43000 rickshaw-van operators, is not met by June 10.

Yesterday's 14-party meeting was presided over by its city coordinator Mofazzel Hossian Chowdhury Maya, while Abdul Jalil, Motia Chowdhury, Kazi Zafrullah, Obaidul Quader, Rashed Khan Menon, Bimal Biswas, Dilip Barua, and others attended.