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SATURDAY-TUESDAY

Blockade, again

Wasim Bin Habib and Refayet Ullah Mirdha
With the country's economy already reeling from non-stop blockades and shutdowns, the BNP-led opposition has yet again called a four-day nationwide blockade of rail, road and waterways from 6:00am tomorrow.
The announcement came yesterday evening, hours before the fourth spell of the opposition's 72-hour blockade ended at 6:00am today.
The fresh blockade will cause more disruption to public life and deal a further blow to the economy and the education sector.
The 83-hour blockade would end at 5:00pm on Tuesday, BNP standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan said at a press briefing at the BNP Chairperson's Gulshan office in the capital.
''Since the government is yet to respond to our demands, the BNP-led 18-party combine thinks that it has no other alternative but to continue its ongoing movement," he said.
The BNP-led alliance enforced back-to-back
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blockades since November 26, a day after the Election Commission announced the schedule for the 10th parliamentary polls.
The opposition has been demanding the suspension of the election schedule, installation of a non-party polls-time government and the release of its leaders.
People had a brief respite of five days from blockades in the last 24 days, and the possibility of getting some relief next week also seems thin, as BNP insiders hinted that the opposition may enforce another four-day blockade from December 28.
At least 97 people were killed and 678 others, including 293 law enforcers, injured in political violence between November 25 and December 18, according to the police headquarters.
Yesterday's announcement of countrywide blockade came as a fresh blow to the business community that has repeatedly urged the political parties to shun the path of violence.
In a desperate move on December 15, it held white-flag rallies across the country for a peaceful solution to the ongoing crisis and the return of trade-friendly environment.
Exporters say their businesses are on the
verge of collapse, and the fresh blockade will add to their woes, disrupting the supply chain all over the country.
Further violence would result in a collapse of the economy, said Kazi Akram Liddin Ahmed, president of Federation of Bangladesh Ghambers of Commerce and Industry, the country's apex trade body.
The FBCCI would hold a board meeting on Sunday to decide the next course of action, Ahmed said.
The garment sector lost more than Tk 4,000 crore between January and September, as 1.32 lakh tonnes of ready-made garments had to be sent to their destinations in expensive air shipments for strikes and blockades, according to an estimate of Exporters Association of Bangladesh.
Production in the sector has declined by at least 10 percent because of the recent political violence, and many international retailers have cancelled their orders.
"We are losing edge over our competitors for political violence, and the international retailers are also losing their confidence in us," said EAB President Abdus Salam Murshedy.
"Our entire supply chain has been disrupted," he said.
The EAB sent a letter to Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday, seeking export incentives and policy support from the government.
"We are losing productivity every day. Besides, transportation costs have gone up ten times,' said Mohammad Hatem, vice-president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
Not only the economy, the education sector also suffered a huge setback for the ongoing agitation that has upset the academic calendar of all educational institutions from primary school to university.
More than 29 lakh class-V students, who sat for primary terminal examinations, had to suffer badly, as their exams were rescheduled frequently due to the blockades.
The new spell of agitation will add to the sufferings of those taking final school exams.
Many schools have completed holding annual exams at weekends, but some schools are yet to complete those.
The way the situation is developing, it is hard to say whether it will be possible to start the next academic year on time, said an education ministry official on condition of anonymity.