Blockade on expressway in front of Padma Bridge, truck set on fire

The Dhaka-Bhanga expressway has been blocked in Shariatpur’s Zajira in front of the Padma Bridge as part of the "Dhaka lockdown" announced online by the Bangladesh Awami League, whose activities have been banned.

The AL leaders and activists took position at Nawdoba around 6:00 am today, Thursday. At that time a truck was set on fire at Tastar Kandi in Nawdoba.

Traffic across the Padma Bridge was halted from 6:00 am. Some vehicles were able to cross the bridge after 8:30 am, but traffic movement on the expressway remains suspended.

According to Padma Bridge South police station and local sources, Awami League leaders and activists blocked the Dhaka-Bhanga Expressway at the Zajira end of the Padma Bridge this morning as part of their ‘lockdown’ programme. They took position at various points along the Nawdoba area of the road.

Around 7:00 am, a truck was set on fire at Tastar Kandi. Fire service personnel controlled the blaze after being alerted. During the incident, two passenger buses were vandalised. To create panic, the protesters set tyres on fire and marched along the road in Tastar Kandi. Several crude bombs also exploded at that time.

The expressway blockade caused a traffic jam stretching at least half a kilometre at Jamaddar Mor in Zajira. Police from Padma Bridge South station and local residents ensured the safety of the stranded vehicles. Meanwhile, no vehicles moved on any roads across Shariatpur since this morning.

Faruk Ahmed Talukdar, president of the Shariatpur Bus Owners’ Association, told Prothom Alo that two Shariatpur-bound buses were set on fire yesterday in Dholaipar of the capital. With today’s blockade at the Padma Bridge, bus owners and workers have kept vehicles off the roads out of fear. Services will resume once the situation returns to normal.

Golam Rasul, officer-in-charge of Padma Bridge South police station in Zajira, told Prothom Alo that since morning protesters had been blocking the road about one kilometre west of the Padma Bridge. Police tried to clear them, but miscreants set fire to a truck. Officers helped stranded vehicles near the police station to cross the bridge. After 8:30 am, some vehicles from Shariatpur began crossing, but traffic on the expressway remains halted.