People hurl stones at police during the protest on Dhaka’s outskirts on Friday. (Reuters)

Dhaka, April 5 (Reuters): At least 100 people were injured and over a dozen vehicles burnt as rock-throwing protesters blocked a highway near Dhaka today in protest over drinking water and electricity shortages.

Witnesses said the violence erupted after the police tried to break up a demonstration by at least 10,000 people who gathered on the highway on Dhaka’s outskirts, demanding clean water and uninterrupted power supply.

Police fired tear gas shells and used batons to evict crowds squatting on the highway linking the capital with the main port city of Chittagong, they said.

The crowds attacked a police outpost, ransacked a fish market and damaged a health clinic. The violence continued to spread as night fell, reporters at the scene said.

The situation at today’s protest became worse after ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party activists attacked the protesters, witnesses said.

Opposition leader Sheikh Hasina blasted the government today for its inability to improve supplies of utilities.

“Prices are rising to the sky, supplies have almost run out and the country is facing its hardest time on every front. Yet the government is ignoring everything,” Hasina said.

During the last few months, 20 people, mostly farmers, have died in police firing in the country’s northwest during protests for better supply of electricity, diesel and water.

Most areas in Bangladesh, including Dhaka, have been without power for several hours each day. There is also a shortage of clean drinking water in the capital.