Opposition protests against price rises

The Awami League has called a countrywide half-day general strike for today to protest against fuel and other utilities' price hikes.

Awami League acting president Abdus Samad Azad and general secretary Zillur Rahman called on the people to make the event a success.

"The four-party coalition government has begun snatching people's right to food after snatching the voting rights from the people," they said in a joint statement.

The Awami League leaders observed that the government has increased the price of fuel, gas, electricity and water to maximum levels while the prices of these commodities on the international market remained at minimum levels.

A downtrend is evident in the industry, business and transport sectors, and agriculture production has dropped, they said, indicating that the economy is headed for ruination.

"The country is going to be a nation of beggars from a country that was made food surplus by the Awami League."