DHAKA: A fresh 72-hour hartal sponsored by Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led (BNP) 20-party alliance has begun across the country since Sunday morning.

The hartal has started from 6:00am of the day and will continue till 6:00am on Wednesday, coupled with a nationwide road-rail-waterway blockade for indefinite period.

Prior to the beginning of the shutdown, sabotages were reported at the different places of the country on Saturday late night.

An activist of Islami Chattra Shibir, student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, was reportedly shot dead and four others were injured when lawpersons fired gunshots following Shibir-men’s attack on police vehicle in Sitakuda of Chittagong.

At least 25 people, including five policemen, were injured when Jamaat-Shibir men locked into clash with police in Chirirbandar upazila of Dianajpur.
 
Earlier, BNP Joint Secretary General Salahuddin Ahmed, on behalf of his party chairperson Khaleda Zia and the alliance, announced the fourth spell of shutdown through issuing statement on Saturday noon.

The statement says that the fresh hartal was called in protest of government’s “conspiracy to starve Khaleda to death”, killing and injuring the alliance men by firing, arresting of innocent people en masse, interfering and grabbing the judiciary by government, torturing journalists and controlling media.

The shutdown was announced in demand of holding free and fair general election under a nonpartisan government, establishing people’s rights to vote, restoring democracy, establishing people’s basic and human rights, and releasing all detained leaders and political prisoners of the alliance, it adds.

In previous three weeks, country witnessed a series of shutdowns by the alliances, which were followed by a two-day break during the weekend only.

Meanwhile, The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and its equivalent examinations, staled for Sunday (February 15), have been rescheduled for February 20 due to the hartal.

In addition to the hartal, a nationwide blockade is underway for indefinite period since Khaleda announced the blockade on January 5 protesting government’s bar to obverse the ‘democracy killing day’ and her ‘confinement’ to Gulshan political office.

On that day, incumbent Awami League government marked the first year of its 5-year tenure since it takes office through January 5 polls, which BNP boycotted.

** 72-hour hartal from Sunday

BDST: 0617 HRS, FEB 15, 2015