Residents of Faridpur district, angered by the reorganization of constituencies, are protesting by blocking the Dhaka-Khulna and Faridpur-Barisal highways, demanding that Faridpur retain its previous five parliamentary seats and insisting that no constituency should be merged with another.
The recent gazette notification including Algi and Hamirdi unions of Bhanga Upazila in Faridpur-2 constituency, instead of Faridpur-4, has sparked outrage among the local population.
In protest, locals have blocked the highways at Mansurabad and Hamirdi bus stand in Bhanga by felling trees, leaving several hundred vehicles stranded.
On Friday, from 9:30am, traffic on the Faridpur-Barisal and Dhaka-Khulna highways came to a halt, completely disrupting movement through Bhanga.
Residents said that on Thursday, the Election Commission (EC) published the revised boundaries of 300 parliamentary constituencies for the 13th national parliamentary elections.
According to the list, Algi and Hamirdi unions of Bhanga Upazila, previously part of Faridpur-4, were transferred to Faridpur-2, which includes Nagar Kanda and Salta Upazilas.
The announcement of this decision immediately drew protests from the locals.
Eyewitnesses reported that thousands of people blocked the highways at Hamirdi bus stand and Mansurabad, burning tires and placing trees on the road in protest, demanding that the two unions be restored to a newly constituted Faridpur-5 constituency rather than being removed from Faridpur-4.
For context, during the 2013 nationwide parliamentary seat reorganization, Faridpur’s five constituencies were reduced to four.