Highways blocked again, Dhaka cut off from 21 districts

Residents have once again blocked two highways in protest against the decision to transfer Algi and Hamirdi unions of Bhanga upazila from the Faridpur-4 constituency to Faridpur-2.

From around 8:15am on Tuesday (September 9), blockades were enforced at Nawapara and Hamirdi bus stands on the Dhaka–Barishal highway, Pukuria bus stand in Hamirdi union, and at Mansurabad bus stand in Hamirdi union and Suyadi area in Algi union on the Dhaka–Khulna highway. As a result, road communication between Dhaka and 21 districts in the country’s south-west through Bhanga came to a halt. A 23-kilometre traffic jam formed on the two highways.

Protesters said, “We will not accept the decision to divide Bhanga in any way. We are people of Bhanga and want to remain in Bhanga. We will never accept being merged with Nagarkanda.”

Locals complained that the Faridpur-4 constituency had previously been comprised of Bhanga, Sadarpur and Charbhadrasan upazilas, while Faridpur-2 consisted of Nagarkanda and Saltha upazilas. However, in a gazette notification published by the Election Commission on 4 September, the boundaries of the two constituencies in Faridpur district were redefined. In that redrawing, Algi and Hamirdi unions of Bhanga were transferred to Faridpur-2.

During the blockade, Bhanga police and highway police tried to control the situation on site. But due to the huge number of protesters, traffic remained paralysed for hours. Hundreds of passenger buses, trucks and private cars were stranded on both sides of the highway, causing immense suffering to travellers.

Bhanga Highway Police Officer-in-Charge Md Rokibuzzaman said, “We are trying to clear the highways, but persuasion is not working with the protesters. Emergency vehicles are being allowed through. Law enforcement is on high alert to keep the situation under control, and we are doing our best to restore normalcy.”

Notably, on 5 September, locals had already staged two rounds of road blockades in Bhanga against the redrawing of constituency boundaries. Although those blockades were withdrawn after assurances from the upazila executive officer, a legal notice was later sent demanding cancellation of the gazette transferring the two unions to Faridpur-2.

On 7 September, Barrister Mohammad Humayun Kabir Pallab sent the notice on behalf of seven individuals, including BNP nomination aspirant Shahidul Islam Babul and Supreme Court lawyer Mahbubur Rahman Dulal. The Election Commission was given 48 hours to withdraw the notification. However, the EC responded that the law does not allow such decisions to be challenged. At the time, Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarkar said: “There is no benefit in holding protests and demonstrations.”