Road and Rail Blockade in Brahmanbaria, Train Services Halted

Protesters have blocked roads and railways in protest against the proposal to restore six villages of the undivided Basudeb Union in Brahmanbaria Sadar Upazila and to split Sadar Upazila.

Since Sunday morning, residents of Basudeb Union have been protesting by blocking the railway at the Koddha Cabin area of Sadar Upazila.
As a result, train services on the Dhaka-Sylhet and Dhaka-Chattogram railway routes have come to a halt. Consequently, the scheduled departures of several trains on these two important railway routes, including Parabat, Paryatak Express, Mahanagar, and Subarna Express, have become uncertain.

Local residents said that in May of this year, six villages of Basudeb Union in Brahmanbaria Sadar Upazila were separated to form a new Union Parishad named Barishal and attached to Akhaura Upazila. A gazette notification in this regard was published on June 4 of this year. The villages are Koddha, Baishnabpur, Shyamnagar, Korabari, Chandi, and Barishal.

Residents of Basudeb Union have been protesting the matter from the beginning, but no resolution was reached. Rather, recently a proposal was made to split three unions of Sadar Upazila—Basudeb, Sultanpur, and Ramrail—and attach them to Barishal Union to form a new upazila named 'Barishal.'

Kabir Ahmed Bhuiyan, a member of the executive committee of the Brahmanbaria District BNP, is reportedly working behind this. Following his application, the Ministry of Local Government recently sent an official letter for a feasibility study. After the matter became public, local people erupted in anger.

Khairul Alam, Officer-in-Charge of Brahmanbaria Sadar Police Station, said, "We came to the scene after receiving news of the blockade. Police are performing their duties to ensure the safety of life and property."