Thousands of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (B)NP activists took part in the Barisal divisional road march on Saturday, advocating for the resignation of the incumbent Awami League government.
Even before the march started, leaders and activists from 42 upazilas gathered at the Bangabandhu Udyan, taking by both land and waterways.
The march started at 11am and is planned to conclude in Pirojpur.
With the leaders delivering speeches at a public gathering there, the road march will formally end.
BNP activists attended the rally with around 1,000 pickup trucks and buses, hundreds of minibuses and over a thousand motorcycles.
Trinamool BNP activist Abdur Rahman, who came from Bhola, said they joined the road march with 5 microbuses, 10 motorcycles, 8 pickups, and 3 buses, all under the leadership of former MP Nazimuddin Alam.
Delwar Hossain, from Dumki in Patuakhali, mentioned they participated in the march with 200 motorcycles.
Salahuddin from Barguna said that over 5,000 BNP activists from his region took part in this divisional road march.
Despite heavy rains causing delays and challenges, activists continued the march, reaching the Kalijira point of the Barisal-Jhalakathi district boundary two hours behind schedule.
Several short rallies were conducted en route, at locations such as Rupatali and Kalijira Bridge.
As leaders and activists proudly displayed the national flag of Bangladesh and their party flag, they received a warm reception from locals.
The march progressed with songs like “Chalo Chalo Road Marchey” and “Prothom Bangladesh Amar Shesh Bangladesh” and slogans echoing their one-point demand along the Barisal-Jhalakathi road.
This resulted in temporary traffic halts extending several kilometres.
BNP Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan, addressing as the chief guest, voiced concerns about rising commodity prices and alleged oppression by the government.
“People are distressed by the rising prices of the essential commodities. Nowadays, mothers, children, and even journalists are being detained by the government for protesting these hikes,” he remarked.
“The people of the country want to be freed from this oppressive government. To address this, the BNP has announced a one-point peaceful movement to call for this government's resignation,” the BNP leader said.
“Some, previously without wealth, have become affluent through large-scale corruption projects. The child born today is also burdened with a debt of Tk1 lakh,” he remarked.
“This parliament was not formed by the people's vote. Therefore, our objectives of ousting this government must be achieved through road demonstrations,” he added.
