Train, road traffic resume in Brahmanbaria after five-hour blockade

Road and rail services in Brahmanbaria returned to normal after local residents withdrew a five-hour blockade protesting a move to form a new Barishal Union comprising six villages in Brahmanbaria Sadar upazila and establish a new upazila under the same name.

The protesters lifted the blockade around 11:15am on Sunday (November 8) after holding talks with the administration and receiving assurances that their demands would be addressed.

Residents of Basudeb Union launched the protest in the Kodda area of Sadar upazila in the morning.

The blockade disrupted train services on the Dhaka-Chattogram and Dhaka-Sylhet routes. Road traffic was also affected on the Akhaura-Agartala international highway. Several trains remained stranded at different stations, while passengers and drivers faced considerable inconvenience on the roads.

The protesters placed railway sleepers on the tracks to obstruct train movement and blocked the road by burning tyres. After receiving news of the blockade, Brahmanbaria District BNP General Secretary and District Council Administrator Md Sirajul Islam, along with Sadar Upazila BNP President Advocate Tarikul Islam Roma, visited the site.

They spoke with the protesters and assured them that they would take steps to resolve the issue through discussions with the administration within three days. The protesters subsequently withdrew the blockade.

At the centre of the residents' objections is a decision to separate six villages from Basudeb Union to form a new Barishal Union. The villages are Chandi, Kodda, Shyamnagar, Korabari, Baishnabpur and Barishal. On May 12, a notification issued by the Local Government Ministry established a new union comprising the villages under Akhaura upazila. Residents of the affected areas have opposed the decision ever since.

Nesar Uddin Sher Shah, a former chairman of Basudeb Union, said residents alleged that the decision to reorganise the union had been taken without consulting them. They do not want to be included in the new Barishal Union. The initiative to establish a new upazila under the same name has also heightened their concerns. They want to remain under Brahmanbaria Sadar upazila, as before.

Jahangir Alam Nayan, acting president of Basudeb Union BNP, said Barishal village was relatively far from their area, meaning residents would have to spend more time and money travelling to the union parishad for official services. For this reason, they cannot accept the decision to bring their villages under the new union.

The protesters alleged that local residents' opinions had been ignored in the initiatives to establish the new union and upazila. However, an official response from the relevant authorities was not available.