Protesters withdraw roadblock

Local people who blocked the Dhaka-Mawa-Khulna highway by forming a human chain demanding relocation of two projects from Munshiganj have withdrawn the blockade.

Traffic movement on the road also resumed as some 30,000 protesters from Srinagar Upazila started going back home at 2pm on Monday after the authorities assured them of meeting their demand.

Earlier in the morning, they blocked the highway by forming a huge human chain, demanding that the proposed ‘Bangabandhu Airport’ and ‘Bangabandhu City’ be relocated from Munshiganj.

The government is planning to build the airport and the housing estate in three upazilas — Srinagar, Nawabganj and Dohar — acquiring some 25,000 acres of land.

But residents of the area refuse to hand over the land as most of which are croplands.

Residents of Nawabganj and Dohar also held similar agitation programmes in the last couple of days.

They also threatened to resort to a nonstop agitation programme until the authorities relocate the projects, Shrinagar police chief Mahbub Alam told bdnews24.com.

Once implemented, they claimed, the airport project would leave millions of people jobless as they would lose their arable land.

Iqbal Hossain Master, chairman of Baraikhali Union Council, said if the decision to set up the airport was not rescinded, there will be more protests.

Srinagar police chief Shakhawat Hossain said most of the motor vehicles were in safe distance from the protesters. “Even then the angry mob set fire to some scooters, which was instantly doused,” he added.

Munshiganj police superintendent Mohammad Shafiqul Islam said, “The situation is now calm. The protesters have left the road and got back home. Traffic movement is also normal.”

Local MP Sukumar Ranjan Ghose said, “The government is of the people. It’ll take its all decisions in favour of the people.”

bdnews24

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