Bagerhat protest over constituency cuts: Sit-ins continue, 3-day highway hartal announced
On Sunday (14 September), leaders and activists of the All-Party Joint Committee staged sit-ins at the deputy commissioner’s office and the district election office
Protesters in Bagerhat have announced a three-day hartal from Monday to Wednesday, limiting it to the highways while continuing their movement to retain the district's four parliamentary constituencies.
On Sunday (14 September), leaders and activists of the All-Party Joint Committee staged sit-ins at the deputy commissioner's office and the district election office. Residents across all upazilas also joined simultaneous demonstrations outside their respective government offices.
At 11am, outside the DC office and court premises, committee leader M A Salam announced a partial relaxation of the previously declared hartal.
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"We have decided to enforce the strike only on the highways considering public inconvenience," he said.
"On Monday, a dawn-to-dusk strike and blockade will be observed, but shops will remain open. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the strike will run only from 6am to noon, limited to highways, to allow smooth movement during Durga Puja."
Committee member-secretary Sheikh Md Yunus added that emergency service vehicles would be exempt, including ambulances, law-enforcement, electricity and fire service vehicles, along with transports carrying examinees, rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, motorcycles and bicycles.
Among those present were BNP central committee member Advocate Wahiduzzaman Dipu, district BNP member-secretary Mozammel Rahman Alam, and other leaders.
Speakers said locals would not accept the constituency boundary changes and vowed to continue the movement until their demand is met.
"We have completed all preparations to file a writ petition with the High Court. We hope the hearing will be held next week and we will get the desired outcome," Wahiduzzaman Dipu said.
Bagerhat had long been represented by four constituencies. But on 30 July, ahead of the upcoming 13th national parliamentary election, the Election Commission proposed reducing the number to three. Despite protests and hearings, the commission issued a final gazette on 4 September confirming the cut.
The new arrangement merged the previous constituencies, leaving Bagerhat with three seats: Bagerhat-1 covering Bagerhat Sadar, Chitalmari, and Mollahat; Bagerhat-2 covering Fakirhat, Rampal, and Mongla; and Bagerhat-3 covering Kachua, Morelganj, and Sharankhola. Local protesters argue that the new arrangement ignores their demand to retain all four constituencies.
