Rail communication between Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet resumes after Brahmanbaria blockade lifted

Train services on the Dhaka-Chattogram and Dhaka-Sylhet routes have resumed after local residents withdrew a blockade of railway tracks in Brahmanbaria following the intervention of local MP Khaled Hossain Mahbub Shamol and the district administration.

The protesters lifted the blockade at the Koddha Cabin area in Brahmanbaria Sadar upazila, the lawmaker confirmed.

The blockade had been enforced since Sunday morning by residents protesting the transfer of six villages from Basudeb Union in Brahmanbaria Sadar upazila to Akhaura upazila and a proposal to reorganise the area into a separate upazila.

The protesters, wearing shrouds on their heads, blocked both the railway tracks and the road to Akhaura Land Port, disrupting transport on the two major rail routes connecting Dhaka with Chattogram and Sylhet.

Several trains, including Parabat Express, Paharika Express, Mahanagar Express and Subarna Express, faced uncertainty over their movement due to the blockade.

Brahmanbaria Additional Superintendent of Police (Administration and Finance) Arafatul Islam told Daily Waadaa that six villages of Basudeb Union - Koddha, Baishnabpur, Shyamnagar, Korabari, Chandi and Barishal - were separated from the union in May this year to form a new union named Barishal under Akhaura upazila. A gazette notification on the decision was published on 4 June.

Residents of Basudeb Union had been protesting the decision from the outset, but their demands remained unresolved.

The situation escalated after a recent proposal to merge three unions of Brahmanbaria Sadar - Basudeb, Sultanpur and Ramrail - with Barishal Union under Akhaura to form a new upazila named Barishal.

Brahmanbaria Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Khairul Alam said police reached the spot after receiving reports of the blockade and were maintaining security to prevent any damage to life and property.