Staff Reporter :Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry [FBCCI], the apex trade body, is likely to file a writ petition on Sunday with the High Court, seeking a ban on hartal and blockade.”We have taken preparation to file a writ on Sunday. However, the matter depends on the lawyer, who is assigned to deal with the writ,” FBCCI President Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed told The New nation on Thursday night. FBCCI will seek the government’s action against the proponents of hartal and blockade in the writ. According to sources, 41 political parties, including the ruling Awami League and BNP, Home Ministry, Commerce Ministry and the Governor of Bangladesh Bank are likely to be made defendants in the writ. The decision to file a writ against hartal and blockade was made in the first meeting of the Coordination Committee for Clothing Sector formed to find out ways to overcome the ongoing political crises. Earlier, on January 14, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association [BGMEA], Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association [BKMEA] and Bangladesh Textile Mills Association [BTMA] jointly formed two committees to set next course of action to mount pressure on both the government and the opposition political parties to end the ongoing political impasse. BGMEA President Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin and President of Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) Abdus Salam Murshedy were made convenors of the two committees. According to a FBCCI estimate, the country’s economy has suffered losses of Tk75,000 crore in 35 days, while the RMG sector suffered losses of about Tk22,000 crore. The ongoing destructive activities unleashed by the BNP-Jamaat alliance have so far caused a loss of over Tk 1.20 lakh crore to the country, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told Parliament on Wednesday, on the 53rd day of blockade.On February 15, the High Court ordered the government to take effective steps to stop the violence that has been going on across the country in the name of blockade and hartal.
