Amid the banned Awami League’s online-announced “lockdown” program, party activists have blocked the Dhaka–Bhanga Expressway in front of the Padma Bridge in Jajira, Shariatpur.
The blockade began around 6 a.m. on Thursday (November 13), when activists gathered in the Naodoba area, set tires on fire, and exploded cocktails on the road, halting vehicular movement through the bridge.
At one point, a truck in the Tostar Kandi area was set on fire. Fire service units quickly arrived at the scene and brought the blaze under control. During the unrest, protesters also vandalized two passenger buses.
Traffic across the Padma Bridge came to a standstill from early morning. Although limited vehicle movement resumed around 8:30 a.m., traffic on the expressway remained suspended, causing a half-kilometer-long traffic jam near Jamaddar Mor in Jajira.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) Golam Rasul of Padma Bridge South Police Station said that protesters had gathered about one kilometer west of the highway. “When police tried to disperse them, they set a truck on fire,” he said, adding that police later ensured the safe passage of stranded vehicles.
Faruk Ahmed Talukdar, president of the Shariatpur Bus Owners’ Association, stated, “Yesterday, two buses from Shariatpur were set on fire in Dhaka. Today, the blockade is taking place near the Padma Bridge. Out of fear, we have suspended bus operations on the roads.”
He added that bus services would resume once the situation returned to normal.