Brahmanbaria:Train services on the Dhaka-Chattogram and Dhaka-Sylhet routes resumed on Sunday after a five-hour suspension. The suspension was due to a blockade by protesters demanding the restoration of six villages to their original union and opposing a proposal to create a new upazila by merging several unions of the Sadar upazila.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the blockade was lifted around 1130 am after assurances from senior district BNP leaders to discuss the protesters' demands with the administration and resolve the issue within three days.
The protests, initiated by residents of Basudeb union, involved placing unused railway sleepers on tracks and staging demonstrations with various slogans. Protesters also blocked the Akhaura-Agartala highway by setting fires, which halted train movements in the Kodda Cabin area under Sadar upazila, affecting several trains including Parabat Express, Parjotak Express, Mahanagar Provati, Subarna Express, Sonar Bangla Express, and Upakul Express.
The road communication on the Akhaura-Agartala route was disrupted, causing difficulties for passengers, including those traveling to India. Local residents expressed dissatisfaction over the separation of six villages—Kodda, Baishnabpur, Shyamnagar, Korabari, Chandi, and Borishol—from Basudeb union in May to form a new Borishol union under Akhaura upazila, as per a gazette notification issued on June 4.
Tensions escalated with a recent proposal to merge three unions of Sadar upazila—Basudeb, Sultanpur, and Ramrail—with Borishol union to form a new upazila named Borishol. An official letter from the Local Government Division seeking a feasibility study for the new upazila further fueled local anger.
Brahmanbaria Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Khairul Alam confirmed that police presence was maintained to ensure security during the protests. Brahmanbaria Railway Station Master Md Rafiqul Islam reported that the stranded trains began departing for their destinations after the tracks were cleared by protesters.