The Bangladesh Nationalist Party and like-minded other parties will now enforce another round of 48-hour road-rail-waterway blockade across Bangladesh beginning from Wednesday. The blockade is to mount pressure on the government to step down and hold the next election under a non-partisan administration.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced the programme at a virtual press briefing on Monday evening. He said the blockade programme will be observed from 6 a.m. Wednesday to 6 a.m. Friday across Bangladesh.
The fresh agitation was announced on the last day of the opposition’s 48-hour nationwide blockade which has been marked by widespread incidents of violence, including clashes with police and torching and vandalising vehicles.
The persistent anti-government political programmes enforced by the opposition have cast a shadow over day to day life of people.
Many schools and colleges in the capital have remained open despite the blockades but students’ attendance has dropped remarkably. Many guardians are reluctant to send their children to schools and colleges, especially those who live far from the educational institutions.
Additionally, educational institutions have been forced to postpone scheduled exams, compounding the stress and uncertainty over students’ studies.
Earlier in the last week, the opposition’s three-day countrywide blockade passed off amid clashes and widespread incidents of torching and vandalising vehicles, leaving four people dead and over three dozen vehicles either torched or vandalized, reports UNB.
They also observed a nationwide dawn-to-dusk hartal on Sunday in protest against the attacks on BNP’s grand rally at Nayapaltan that ended amid the incidents of torching vehicles and clashes, leaving three people dead.
The heavy presence of law enforcement agencies was seen patrolling on roads and important public buildings. Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members are patrolling various roads and highways to keep the industrial environment normal. A total of 228 platoons of BGB have been deployed across the country to help law enforcers, said PRO, BGB.