Planning to stay in Gulshan and have been advised not to venture into the old city for sightseeing given the blockade. My colleagues told me they haven't noticed blockade or protests at all in Gulshan during the day so far, so I'm wondering whether sightseeing or moving around is so dangerous. That being said, is it safe to venture into the city? Are there any interesting sights in the suburbs worth exploring?

Seems Sonargaon is also not good due to the highway blockade.

I am in Dhaka right now and I have to tell you that the situation is tense, worse than I have previously experienced (I have been coming here five or six times per year for the last four years, for my sins!).

The blockade, which was declared on 5 January and is still in force, is not really a big problem within Dhaka, since it is directed mainly at road, rail and waterway links between the cities, but - that said - there can be unexpected incidents anywhere, especially at the exit points from the city.

More worrying are the hartal (= shutdown) days, where vehicle traffic is theoretically banned...we had a non-stop hartal last week from Sunday 6 a.m to Thursday 6 p.m, marked by sporadic violence...three of my managers were in an auto-rickshaw Wednesday morning when someone threw a Molotov cocktail at the vehicle in front of them..luckily it did not explode. These shutdowns are called over and above the existing blockade, just to complicate matters !!

Since the start of the year, there have been more than 50 people killed, mainly burned to death in vehicles, and hundreds more injured. If you stay within Gulshan, you will be fine, but if you need to move around, be careful. If there is just the blockade in force, then I would not worry too much about moving within Dhaka itself (but avoid being outside after sunset), but on a hartal day I would strongly advise you not to leave the hotel.