Shahbagh blockade demanding construction of Barisal-Bhola bridge

People from Bhola living in Dhaka have blocked Shahbagh intersection in the capital demanding the construction of the Barisal-Bhola bridge. When they blockaded Shahbagh and surrounding areas around 3:45 pm on Friday vehicular movement was stopped, creating a severe traffic jam.

Shahbagh Police Station OC Md. Khalid Mansur said that the police are trying to remove the protesters from the road. Additional police personnel have been deployed to control the situation.

Earlier, for several weeks, the people of Bhola have been holding various programmes demanding the construction of bridges in Bhola and Dhaka. In continuation of this, several hundred people gathered at Shahbagh intersection with banners and festoons on Friday. Along with the bridge, they also demanded the establishment of a public university in Bhola and a gas connection to the pipeline.

On November 14, the protesters demonstrated by blocking three advisers of the interim government who were visiting Bhola in front of the office of the Deputy Commissioner. Contrary to his earlier assurance that the work on the Bhola-Barisal bridge would begin soon, Adviser Muhammad Fauzul Kabir Khan said that the design of the project had not yet begun and that the in-principle approval was pending. The protesters' anger intensified over that comment.

On the same day of the incident, a group of students who had participated in the long march from Bhola to Dhaka demanding the bridge reached Barisal by swimming across the Tetulia River; one of them fell ill while swimming.

The protesters' five demands were - visible progress in the construction of the Bhola-Barisal bridge, gas connection to every household in Bhola through pipelines, establishment of gas-based industries and factories, establishment of public universities and construction of sustainable embankments.