A half-day nationwide strike enforced by the Left Democratic Alliance (LDA) in protest against the rising prices of fuel, fertilizers and daily essentials is underway peacefully.

The strike began around 6am on Thursday and will end at 12 noon.

Hospitals, hotels, pharmacies and vehicles engaged in providing emergency services have been kept out of the purview of the strike.

At a press conference on Wednesday at Mukti Bhaban in the capital, LDA coordinator and CPB General Secretary Ruhin Hossain Prince called upon the country’s people to observe the strike with their spontaneous presence on the streets and also to mount pressure on the government to stop the process of increasing the prices of electricity and gas.

Also read: BNP supports left alliance’s hartal on Aug 25

Stating that people are going through immense sufferings due to the rise in the prices of fuel and commodities, he warned that LDA will announce bigger programmes in the future if the government does not respond to their demands after the general strike.

Earlier on August 16, the LDA called a nationwide half-day strike for August 25.

In an abrupt move, the government increased the prices of diesel, octane and petrol by 42.5 per cent, 51.7 per cent and 51 per cent, respectively, on August 5.

Currently, diesel is being sold at Tk 114 per litre, octane at Tk 135 per litre and petrol at Tk 130 per litre, pushing up the prices of all essential items.

On August 17, the country's main opposition BNP extended its support to the LDA’s strike. Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made the announcement at a press conference at the BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office.