Highway blocked demanding reinstatement of Pabna-1 constituency

Residents of Bera upazila in Pabna blocked the Dhaka–Pabna highway on Sunday (September 7), demanding reinstatement of the Pabna-1 parliamentary constituency.

More than a hundred leaders and activists of the BNP and its affiliated bodies joined the protest, setting tyres ablaze on the road and chanting slogans.

The blockade began in the morning at the C&B junction in Bera upazila. Demonstrators shouted slogans including: “No change in boundaries, restore people’s rights,” “Pabna-1’s boundary is not anyone’s personal property,” “The people’s voice cannot be silenced,” “Ignoring public demand will spark a mass movement,” “The Election Commission’s illegal gazette, we reject it,” and “We will not accept the disparity between Bera and Santhia.”

Protesters alleged that Pabna-1 had been unjustly divided. They argued that although Bera upazila was separated and added to the constituency, its economic and social ties remain linked with Santhia.

The blockade was led by Bera municipal BNP president Fazlur Rahman Fakir, senior vice-president Sajedul Islam Bipu, general secretary Salauddin Iqbal, organising secretary Akshed Ali and joint general secretary Moin Uddin Khwaja.

Bera Model Police Station officer-in-charge (OC) AKM Habibul Islam said the situation is under control. Additional police forces are deployed and remain prepared to handle any situation.