Home
+
Published : 16 Sep 2025, 05:48 PM
The Sarbadaliya Oikya Parishad has announced a pause in its ongoing protest and blockade campaign to press for the restoration of the old parliamentary constituency boundaries in Faridpur.
The suspension will remain in effect from Tuesday until Saturday.
However, the group has warned that if their demands are not met by then, a fresh and tougher programme will be announced on Sunday.
Md Palash Mia, a resident of Algi Union and representative of the group, said the suspension was declared around 1:30pm on Tuesday.
Leaders and activists of the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, National Citizen Party (NCP), Gono Odhikar Parishad, and Khelafat Majlish were also present at the gathering.
The decision has brought relief to passengers and public transport operators, who suffered due to the blockades.
The move comes against the backdrop of violent protests on Monday, which saw protesters storm the Bhanga Police Station, vandalising vehicles, and setting fire to an Upazila council building.
District BNP Convener Syed Modarres Ali Isha described the incidents as “conspiratorial”.
“Those who do not want a national election want to fish in troubled waters. Awami League’s goons carried out this destructive attack with [former Faridupur MP Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury] Nixon’s money and at the instigation of Kazi Zafar Ullah,” he said.
He also called on the administration to take legal action against those responsible for the violence.
Tuesday marked the final day of the previously declared three-day programme. In the morning, protesters blocked the Dhaka–Barisal highway for two hours by placing uprooted tree stumps and electricity poles across the road. Normalcy was restored around 9:30am.
Large contingents of police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and Army personnel were deployed to prevent further violence.
Around 8:30am, angry locals at the Hamirdi bus stand on the highway declared that they would continue their movement to press for five specific demands.
Among those speaking was local resident Ibrahim Khan, who demanded that Algi and Hamirdi unions be included in the Faridpur-4 constituency.
He called for the unconditional release of the Algi Union Parishad Chairman MM Siddique Mia, withdrawal of the case filed against him, an end to administrative harassment, and a guarantee that no new cases would be filed.
In a gazette published on Aug 4, the Election Commission redrew the district's electoral map, moving Algi and Hamirdi unions from Faridpur-4 to neighbouring Faridpur-2.
In protest, locals have staged several rounds of blockades on the Dhaka-Khulna and Dhaka-Barishal highways, as well as railway lines, causing untold suffering for people across 21 districts in southern Bangladesh.
Amid the continuing protests in Bhanga, police on Sunday filed a case over disruption of law and order, naming 90 people and another 150 unidentified people as suspects.
The key suspect is Siddique Mia, also the chief coordinator of the Sarbadaliyo Oikya Parishad spearheading the movement.
Protesters have announced further blockade programmes for Monday and Tuesday. In line with the pre-declared programme, demonstrators blocked two points on the Dhaka-Barishal and Dhaka-Khulna highways on Monday, bringing traffic to a halt.
But the demonstration took a violent turn when protesters vandalised at least five vehicles belonging to Bhanga Police Station. Several people were reportedly injured in the clashes after being struck by stones and bricks thrown during the unrest.
