Village blocked for voting BNP

The village has been virtually cut off. After the 30 December national parliamentary polls, buses no more pass through the village, auto-rickshaws cannot leave the vicinity and cable television has been disconnected.

The villagers have been isolated because the candidate from the opposition political camp secured more votes than the ruling AL candidate contesting in the national polls.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidate Aminul Haque got 1,249 votes while the Awami League candidate Omar Faruk Chowdhury got only 653 votes from the village.

This village is Kolma in Tanore upazila of Rajshahi. It is located 50 kilometres away from Rajshahi city and is under the Rajshahi-1 (Tanore-Godagari) constituency. Voters of this village voted at the Kolma Government Primary School centre.

On condition of anonymity, the villagers said their only 'fault' was that more people voted for the BNP candidate in the village.

The correspondent, while visiting the village, met with BNP supporters, though could not locate any of the party's leaders. The supporters were reluctant to speak openly.

They said, apart from closing down bus service and satellite connections, the deep tube wells of the village were taken over by Awami League activists and supporters.

It seems water for irrigation will be stopped as well, they added.

The locals said that there were two ways to exit from the village- either from the west through the village Billi or from the east through Dargadanga village. However, the villagers are now blocked from all sides.

Tanore upazila AL president Golam Rabbani told this correspondent, “I heard about what is going on in Kolma, but can do nothing about it.”

 “Now anyone, regardless to their political beliefs, is being attacked. The other day two pro-AL college teachers were beaten up and their motorbikes were vandalised on the way to college,” said a local.

An auto rickshaw driver of the village complained that a group of AL activists kicked him out from Dargadanga Bazar and now he could not drive his auto rickshaw.

Kolma ward AL president Sirajul Islam alleged that BNP activists and supporters attacked a union parishad chairman and Tanore upazila Juba League president a day before the election, leaving five of them injured.

Citing it to be the reason of fray, the AL leader said the attack on the teachers was a mistake.

He hoped the situation would improve very soon.

Most of the shops and restaurants were found closed in the Kolma bazaar while an owner of a restaurant told the correspondent that the dispute had affected their businesses.

This correspondent contacted Mohammad Ali, supervisor of a Bismillah Paribahan bus travelling from Rajshahi to Tanore. He said the bus was not running through Kolma village after the election.

Asked about the reason he said, “There are clashes in the village.”

Tanore police station officer in charge (OC) Rezaul Islam and Kolma UP chairman Lutfar Haider did not answer their phones when attempts were made to contact them.

However, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Chowdhury Golam Rabbi told Prothom Alo that nobody told him anything about the matter.

He said necessary action would be taken after the matter was investigated.