The Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) has demanded the formulation of new law banning hartal.
FBCCI President Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed made the demand while addressing a rally at Dhaka's financial hub Motijheel on Sunday afternoon.
The business platform is staging countrywide rallies on Sunday protesting the ongoing political unrest in the country. The businessmen stood in front of the business organisations across the country carrying with national flags for 15 minutes starting from 12pm to 12:15pm.
"If the ongoing violence continues, hartals should be banned through enacting law," said the FBCCI president.
He also said they had to count Tk75,000 crore loss because of the political unrest since January 6.
So far, more than 60 people have died and scores have been injured in different parts of the country in violence during the BNP-led alliance enforced non-stop blockade.
Hundreds of vehicles, including those belonging to law-enforcers, were burnt and attacked.
The BNP led 20-party alliance has been enforcing a non-stop nationwide blockade since January 5 in protest against the “confinement” of the party chief Khaleda Zia.
Khaleda Zia had been kept confined to her Gulshan party office since January 3 ahead of a party rally, marking “Democracy Killing Day.”
On January 12, the security was relaxed.
But Khaleda never came out; instead she said in a press conference that she was going to stay there and the blockade would continue unless the government took the first steps towards solution.
The relaxed blockade is underway across the country amid sporadic incidents of violence, arson attacks, vandalism and arrests of BNP members.
