Abdul Awal
The ‘All-Party Joint Committee’ is observing a hartal and road blockade program in protest against the reduction of one from four parliamentary seats in Bagerhat to three. The program, which began at 8 am on Monday, will continue until 6 pm.
Blockade programs are being observed at at least 20 places on the main roads of the district. These include the central bus stand on the Bagerhat highway, the Deputy Commissioner’s office, Dashani, Nawapara, Katakhali, Fakirhat Bishwa Road intersection on the Khulna-Dhaka highway, Mollahat Bridge, Signboard Bazar on the Bagerhat-Pirojpur highway, and the Foila and Mongla bus stand areas on the Khulna-Mongla highway.
The protesters stopped traffic by burning tires on the road and throwing cars, tree trunks and benches on the Khulna-Mongla highway. The main gate of the district election office was locked at around 8:30 am. Later, the hartalists took up a procession and took up position in front of the deputy commissioner’s office.
For a long time, there were four parliamentary constituencies in Bagerhat. On July 30, the Election Commission announced the decision to reduce one seat to three in its initial proposal.
Since then, a movement has started demanding the restoration of four seats. However, on September 4, the Election Commission changed the boundaries and finally published the gazette of three seats. Local all-party leaders alleged that this decision was taken ignoring the demands of public opinion.