Dhaka–Khulna Highway Blocked in Faridpur, Truck Set on Fire on Padma Bridge Expressway

Activists of the banned Awami League have blocked the Dhaka-Khulna highway in Faridpur, felling trees and setting tires on fire to halt vehicle movement. The obstruction began early Thursday (November 13) around 6:00 AM in Shuadi Pump area of Algi Union and Pukhuria in Bhanga upazila, causing long traffic jams and stranding commuters.

Police and local sources said several leaders and activists began occupying the highway from dawn in support of the lockdown. As more joined, the entire road was blocked, creating a tense situation. Empty ambulances were turned back, though those with patients were allowed to pass.

Bhanga Highway Thana's Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Rokibuzzaman confirmed to The Daily Campus, "The Dhaka-Khulna highway in Shuadi Bus Stand and Pukhuria areas of Bhanga upazila was blocked from dawn in connection with the lockdown. Vehicle movement remained halted until 9:00 AM. Police and army personnel are heading to the spot to restore normalcy."

In a related development, the Dhaka-Bhanaga Expressway near Padma Bridge in Jajira, Shariatpur, was obstructed in support of the online-declared lockdown by the banned Awami League. Activists gathered at Naodoba around 6:00 AM and set fire to a truck in Tastarkandi area.

The blockade halted all vehicle movement across the bridge from 6:00 AM. Some vehicles crossed after 8:30 AM, but the expressway remains closed.

Padma Bridge South Thana sources said Awami League leaders and activists occupied the Jajira end of the expressway. Around 7:00 AM, they torched a truck in Tastarkandi. Fire Service personnel extinguished the blaze. Two passenger buses were vandalized. To create panic, activists paraded with burning tires in Tastarkandi, accompanied by crude bomb blasts.

The obstruction caused at least a half-kilometer jam at Jamaddar Mor in Jajira. Padma Bridge South Thana police and locals secured stranded vehicles. Some passed the bridge after 8:30 AM, but expressway traffic remains suspended.

Padma Bridge South Thana OC Golam Rasul told The Daily Campus, "From morning, activists occupied a kilometer west of Padma Bridge. Police tried to clear the road. Miscreants then set a truck ablaze. Our personnel helped stranded vehicles cross the bridge. Some Shariatpur vehicles started passing after 8:30 AM. But the expressway remains blocked."

No vehicles have moved on Shariatpur's roads since morning.