Bhola residents lock down LPG station demanding gas access, bridge construction

A group of Bhola residents locked down the Intraco LPG refuelling station today (24 May), demanding the implementation of six development initiatives, including pipeline gas connections to every household and construction of the Bhola-Barishal bridge immediately.

Around 11am, despite heavy rainfall, individuals from various political, social, cultural, and professional backgrounds gathered at the Bangla School field in Bhola town for a pre-scheduled protest rally organised under the banner of "Amra Bholabasi."

Photo: TBS

Following the rally, around 1:30pm, protesters marched to the Intraco LPG refuelling station near Bepari Bazar, adjacent to the Birsreshtha Mostafa Kamal bus stand, and locked the facility.

They declared that the station's operations would remain suspended indefinitely until their demands were met.

The protesters alleged that while gas is extracted from Bhola and distributed to other parts of the country through Intraco, the residents are deprived of access.

Speaking at the rally, Raisul Alam, joint convener of the "Amra Bholabasi" committee and BNP district secretary, said, "We have been protesting for a long time to claim our fundamental rights. Locking down the Intraco station — owned by former state minister Nasrul Hamid — is part of our democratic movement.

Photo: TBS

"Gas will not be taken from Bhola until our demands are fulfilled."

He added that future actions would be determined based on the government's response to their demands.

The other demands include setting up a government medical college along with modernising the existing 250-bed hospital.

They also call for establishing a large-scale fertiliser factory and an export processing zone (EPZ) utilising local gas resources, implementing permanent measures to protect Bhola from river erosion, and founding a public university in the district.