On this day in 2002, the government closed the ETV's broadcast after the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld a verdict of the High Court Division declaring the licence of the ETV illegal.

ETV's transmission equipment was also removed with the help of police the following day.

On a writ petition filed by the ETV for getting back the transmission equipment and licence, a division bench of the High Court gave judgement on August 20, 2003 directing the government to return the seized equipment by 30 days.

After declaring illegal the ETV and its transmission, the authorities took steps to gag the voice of the management and workers, which still continues, an ETV press release signed by Director (Programmes) Atiqul Haq Chowdhury said yesterday.

Despite having all necessary preparations, the Ekushey Television cannot resume broadcast due to the whims of the ministry concerned, it said.

"We do not know whether there is any instance in the world of a TV channel's waiting four years for broadcasting. Although new TV channels started broadcasting one after another, the authorities' role in the case of ETV was biased and undemocratic," the press release said.

The ETV staff will observe a token sit-in programme in front of the ETV office at Karwan Bazar at noon today to protest closure of the popular private TV channel.