More than 20 million (2 crore) mobile phone subscribers found communication breakdown Wednesday evening as the government asked the operators to shut down their network, reports UNB.

Information available from Grameenphone Grahok Kotha said the government had asked the mobile phone operators to shutdown their network until further notice.

The mobile phone network of different operators was found inoperative just after the newsbreak of curfew imposed from 8:00 pm and closer of all universities and the colleges in divisional headquarters.

The mobile phone breakdown caused inconvenience to the subscribers who wanted to inquire about the welfare of relatives, especially the university students who have been directed to vacate the residential halls by 8:00 pm.

Some of the students of Dhaka University, who were leaving the halls, told the news agency that the breakdown of mobile networks has posed a serious problem for them. They could not contact relatives in the city to seek accommodation and inform the parents outside Dhaka.

"How shall I inform the parents outside Dhaka who are certainly worried about my whereabouts," said a student of AF Rahman Hall of Dhaka University.