48-Hour Hartal in Chitalmari: Highway Blocked, Shops Closed

48-Hour Hartal in Chitalmari: Highway Blocked, Shops Closed

Bagerhat Correspondent:

“CEC doesn’t know, doesn’t recognize Bagerhat—restore 4 constituencies, must be restored”—with this slogan, leaders and activists in Chitalmari, Bagerhat, are enforcing a continuous 48-hour dawn-to-dusk hartal.

On Wednesday (September 10), activists of the all-party alliance blocked the Dhaka–Chitalmari highway to press their demand for restoring all four parliamentary constituencies in the district. They warned of even tougher movements if the demand is not met.

During the hartal, the Chitalmari Upazila Election Office, Upazila Parishad, educational institutions, markets, and road communications came to a standstill. Over a hundred fish warehouses and shops in the town remained closed, while continuous slogans created a tense atmosphere across the area.

Md. Soeb Hossain, president of the local market management committee and BNP leader, said, “Since the Liberation War of 1971, I have never witnessed such a hartal in Chitalmari.”

Earlier, on Tuesday evening, the all-party alliance announced the hartal through processions and loudspeaker campaigns.

During Wednesday’s highway blockade, speeches were delivered by the convener of the all-party coordination committee and president of Chitalmari Upazila BNP Md. Mominul Haque Tulu Biswas, general secretary Md. Shariful Hasan Apu, former member secretary Ahsan Habib Thandu, Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer of Chitalmari Maulana Md. Moniruzzaman, Islami Andolon Chitalmari branch president Dr. Kazi Abul Kalam, secretary Maulana Shahadat Hossain, among others.

Additional speakers included BNP organizing secretary Advocate Md. Fazlul Haque Sheikh, Advocate Asim Kumar Samaddar, BNP leaders Soeb Hossain Gazi, Shipon Munshi, Raju Ahmed Munshi, Jubo Dal convener Zakaria Milon, Swechchhasebak Dal convener Md. Niyamat Ali Khan, Kashinath Bairagi, and other leaders of the alliance.

In a joint statement, the leaders said, “We strongly demand the reinstatement of all four constituencies in Bagerhat, as in the past. If our demand is ignored, we will announce even tougher programs in the coming days.”