The coastal district of Bagerhat has erupted in protest over demands to maintain four parliamentary constituencies, with district-wide road blockades and strikes underway since Sunday morning.
Human chains and other forms of agitation have been recurrent over the past month after the Election Commission proposed reducing the number of parliamentary constituencies in the district.
On Thursday, the Election Commission finalised the delimitation of 300 constituencies, ahead of the 13th Parliamentary Election, slated for February.
In the final delimitation, the number of constituencies in Bagerhat was lowered from four to three.
As part of a pre-announced programme, activists blocked at least fifty roads in the district, including by placing trees, benches, and burning tires on highways.
The central bus terminal on the Khulna-Bagerhat highway was overtaken, as were the road in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office, Mollahat Bridge on the Khulna-Mawa highway, and Signboard Bazar on the Bagerhat-Pirojpur highway.
This completely cut off road communication between Bagerhat and other districts, causing extreme suffering for general travellers.
In addition, local business owners kept their shops closed in support of the strike, causing further inconvenience to the public.
Most educational institutions were also effectively closed due to student absences.
Mariam Begum, a passenger traveling from Pirojpur to Khulna, said, "I was going to Khulna for medical treatment. Due to repeated obstacles on the way, I'm having to walk at times, and at other times traverse broken paths for double the fare."
Siddiq Sheikh, a passenger traveling from Bagerhat to Morelganj, said, "I was coming to town for urgent work. Trees have been placed across the roads, and no passenger buses are running. So at times I'm walking, and at others paying extra to ride on vans. We ordinary people are facing extreme hardship."
Sumon Saha, a businessman in Bagerhat town, said, "There has been no development in Bagerhat district, and now the number of constituencies has been reduced. So we businesspeople expressed solidarity with this movement by keeping our shops closed."
Nasim Sardar, who came to shop at the market, said, "Due to the strike and blockade, all the shops in the market are closed. I came to shop but had to return empty-handed."
Bagerhat District Acting Education Officer Md Sadekul Islam said, "Due to the ongoing protests, instructions were given to conduct academic activities if students attended. However, since morning, most institutions saw no student attendance, so activities remained suspended. No institution was officially closed by the government."
Former Bagerhat District BNP President MA Salam said, "The movement has been ongoing since July 30. Yet the Election Commission is not taking it seriously. That's why we observed a strike and blockade today. If the constituencies are not reinstated, Bagerhat will be cut off from all other districts."
Jamaat-nominated candidate for Bagerhat-2 constituency, Sheikh Manjurul Haque Rahad, said, "The Election Commission made the decision to reduce the constituencies without any discussion with us. This is conspiratorial. We will not let this conspiracy succeed. If the Election Commission does not withdraw the decision soon, they will have to bear the responsibility for any unwanted incident."
District BNP leader Khan Monirul Islam said, "We thought the Election Commission might change its decision in response to the initial movement. But they did not. That's why the people of Bagerhat have erupted in anger today. If a decision to reinstate the constituencies is not made very soon, we will go for even tougher movements."
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