BNP announced of 24-hour fresh round of road-rail-waterway blockade across the country starting from Wednesday morning and a daylong hartal on Thursday to protest the schedule for the next national election announced by the Election Commission (EC).

Party Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi came up with the announcement at a virtual press briefing on Monday.

Rizvi said the programmes are also meant for mounting pressure on the government to quit, hold the next election under a non-party neutral government and release party leaders and activists, including its secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

He said other opposition parties, who have long been carrying out the simultaneous movement with BNP, will also observe similar programmes.

The fresh programmes were announced 14 hours before the end of the opposition’s ongoing 48-hour blockade which will end at 6m on Tuesday.

Rizvi thanked the country’s people and the opposition leaders and activists for making their blockade programme a success.

The opposition parties have so far observed blockades in seven phases to mount pressure on the Awami League government to quit power and hold the next election under a non-partisan administration.

They also observed a nationwide dawn-to-dusk hartal on October 29 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.

Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque