Situation calms in Bhanga, traffic resumed after six-hour disruption

Traffic in Bhanga of Faridpur returned to normal at 5:30pm on Monday (September 15) following a six-hour blockade and violent protests. Vehicles stranded on the Dhaka-Khulna and Dhaka-Barisal highways, as well as the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga Expressway, resumed movement.

Faridpur Additional Superintendent of Police (Administration) Shamsul Azam confirmed that the situation had been brought under control by the afternoon, though the full extent of damage to government offices is yet to be assessed.

The unrest was triggered by local opposition to the redrawing of parliamentary constituencies. Protests escalated into violence around 1pm, with police stations, Upazila Parishads, Highway Police Stations, and municipal offices vandalised. Several motorcycles were set on fire, and journalists were reportedly prevented from documenting the incidents. Some police personnel and reporters, including MyTV’s Bhanga Upazila correspondent Sarwar Hossain, were injured.

According to eyewitnesses, several thousand protesters, armed with sticks, ramdas, and other indigenous weapons, gathered at the bus stand on the Dhaka-Barishal highway from 11:30am. Clashes broke out when protesters attacked police on duty, forcing 10–12 officers to take shelter in the nearby broken Central Eidgah Mosque. Madrasa teachers and students later intervened to protect the trapped police personnel.

Protesters then moved to the police station, vandalising the building, and later attacked the Upazila Parishad, setting fire to motorcycles. The Highway Police office and Municipality office were also damaged in the unrest.

Deputy Commissioner Md. Kamrul Hasan Molya said, “We are working to calm the protesters. The Election Commission has been informed and requested a report. We hope the issue will be resolved within a day or two.”

Law enforcement, army, and police had been stationed in Bhanga since the morning, maintaining normal traffic until 10:30am, before the sudden surge of protesters.