Leaders and activists of the banned Awami League blocked parts of the Dhaka-Khulna and Dhaka-Barisal highways in Faridpur on Wednesday morning as part of the party’s announced Dhaka lockdown program.
Carrying local weapons, the protesters set tree trunks and tyres on fire to block traffic and chanted slogans at various points.
The blockade began around 6am at the Shuyodi bus stand area of Algi Union in Bhanga upazila on the Dhaka-Khulna highway.
According to local sources, similar blockades were also enforced at five other points, including Pukhuria on the Dhaka-Barisal highway and Pulia on the expressway, and continued until 10am.
A live video posted by district Jubo League leader Debashish Nayan from the Shuyodi area around 8:30am showed hundreds of activists blocking the highway, brandishing sticks, local weapons, and shields while setting tyres ablaze. Women and children were also seen among the protesters.
Several vehicles, including Dhaka-bound buses, were stranded on both sides of the highway due to the blockade.
Local sources said Awami League leaders and activists from different parts of Faridpur took up positions along the Bhanga–Gopalganj stretch of the highway from early morning. The situation created tension in the area.
Repeated calls to Bhanga police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Ashraf Hossain and the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) went unanswered.
However, a local journalist said that blockades were in place at five locations in Bhanga.
Police led by the OC later visited Pukhuria and Pulia, spoke with protesters, and managed to have the roads cleared.
Law enforcement officials and army personnel were also deployed in the Shuyodi area to bring the situation under control.
