BNP to enforce fresh 48-hour countrywide blockade from Sunday

Pausing its protest for two days, the BNP will again enforce a 48-hour countrywide road-rail-waterway blockade beginning from Sunday to mount pressure on the Awami League government to quit power and hold the next election under a non-partisan administration.

The fresh blockade programme after a break on Friday and Saturday is also meant to protest the recent killing of opposition workers, attacks on BNP’s Nayapaltan grand rally and the arrest of party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and many other party leaders and activists.

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced the programme at a virtual press briefing on Thursday evening.

He said the blockades will be observed on November 5 and 6 across the country to register BNP’s protest against the attack on its Nayapaltan grand rally, killings of its leaders and workers, arrest of over 1,000 opposition leaders and activists of different parties, including BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, raids on their houses and repression on them.

"The all-out blockade will be observed on roads, railways and waterways," Rizvi added.

The fresh agitation was announced at the end of a three-day nationwide blockade on Thursday that has been marked by widespread incidents of violence, including clashes with police and torching and vandalising vehicles.

The party also enforced a nationwide dawn-to-dusk hartal on Sunday in protest against the attacks on its grand rally at Nayapaltan that ended amid the incidents of torching vehicles and clashes, leaving three people dead.

Half an hour into the start of BNP‍‍`s much-talked-about grand rally at Nayapaltan on Saturday noon, the party‍‍`s leaders and workers locked in a clash with the ruling party activists and police at Kakrail. Soon violent clashes spread around Nayapaltan, foiling the rally midway.