The BNP-led 20-party alliance has called 36-hour general strike from this morning protesting the proposed hike of electricity price and the arrest of around 10,000 opposition leaders and activists.
Joint General Secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi made the announcement through a press release yesterday saying that the hartal would start at 6am and continue until 6pm tomorrow.
Rizvi, remaining in hideout, asked the alliance leaders and activists to observe the general strike “peacefully and spontaneously.”
On January 20, the technical evaluation committee of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission recommended raising the bulk power tariffs. It suggested increasing the average per unit (per kilowatt-hour) tariff of the PDB by 5.16%.
The committee on January 21 recommended against raising the bulk tariffs at the consumer-level.
In the press release, Rizvi said: “The hartal has been called protesting price hike of electricity, arrest of around 10,000 opposition leaders and activists and the government’s conspiracy of sabotage.”