6th blockade called by BNP, likeminded underway

The sixth nationwide 48-hour blockade called by BNP and like-minded opposition parties to press home their one-point demand is underway with regular vehicular movement on the streets. 

The blockade started at 6 a.m. on Wednesday and will end at 6 a.m. on Friday. The presence of public transport on Dhaka streets and commuters seemed to be higher compared to the previous blockades, despite heightened tension and fear of violence. Law enforcers were seen patrolling the streets, as per UNB reports.

Giving a pause for a day after its 48-hour hartal, BNP and like-minded opposition parties called for yet another 48-hour road-rail-waterway blockade across the country to protest the schedule for the next national election announced by the Election Commission. Party Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi came up with the announcement at a virtual press briefing on Monday afternoon.

Rizvi said the blockade is also meant to mount pressure on the government to quit, hold the next election under a non-party neutral government, and release BNP leaders and activists, including its Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.