<div><b><span style="font-size: 1rem;">A three-day blockade of road, rail and waterways, enforced by BNP and like-minded opposition parties, across the country began this morning to mount pressure on the Awami League government to quit and hold the next election under a non-party, neutral administration.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami also enforced the blockade simultaneously from this morning to Thursday evening with the same demands.</div><div><br></div><div>Apart from BNP and Jamaat, the 12-party alliance, Jatiyatabadi Samamona Jote, LDP, Gonoforum and People’s Party, Gonotantrik Bam Oikya, Gono Odhikar Parishad, Labour Party and NDM are also observing the programme separately.</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, AL has vowed to resist any violence during the blockade.</div><div><br></div><div>Police and other law enforcement agencies have already alerted their units to increase vigilance and beef up security across the country.</div><div><br></div><div>Police have also taken up positions and set up checkpoints at the entry points and all major points of Dhaka.</div><div><br></div><div>After observing a day-long hartal, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Sunday evening announced the countrywide blockade for three consecutive days.</div><div><br></div><div>He, however, said vehicles of newspapers or media, ambulances and vehicles transporting oxygen cylinders and medicines will remain out of the purview of the three-day blockade. According to UNB reports </div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>