Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (Retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury has warned of strict legal action if the ongoing blockade in Faridpur’s Bhanga is not lifted immediately.
Speaking on Sunday after a meeting of the law-and-order core committee, he said demonstrators must vacate the roads without delay or face removal by law enforcement agencies.
“Blocking roads and causing public suffering is unacceptable. If there are grievances, they should be addressed through proper channels,” the adviser said. “People from two unions cannot block roads and inflict misery on thousands of commuters.”
The adviser stated that if the blockade is not withdrawn promptly, law enforcement agencies will be deployed to clear the roads.
The blockade—now in its third phase—was called in protest at the redrawing of parliamentary constituency boundaries in Faridpur. On Sunday, protesters blocked at least 10 locations on two highways and a railway line.
Meanwhile, on Saturday night, police detained M. M. Siddiq Mia, chairman of Algi Union Parishad and chief coordinator of the protest group “All-Party Unity Council.”
The protests began after the Election Commission on 4 September published a gazette notification transferring Algi and Hamirdi unions of Bhanga upazila from Faridpur-4 constituency to Faridpur-2 (Saltha-Nagarkanda) constituency. In response, Siddiq Mia announced a three-day dawn-to-dusk blockade at a press conference held Saturday afternoon at the Algi Union Parishad compound under the banner of the All-Party Unity Council of Algi and Hamirdi unions and Bhanga upazila.
