Deaths of 6 of a family: Locals block Sylhet-Tamabil highway in protest

Several hundred people blocked Sylhet-Tamabil highway in Sylhet's Jaintiapur upazila this morning protesting the deaths of six members of a family in an accident on the road.

Gathering in the area around 10:00am, they also demanded that transport owners and workers must publicly apologise for the accident, no vehicles with goods and without licences will be allowed for plying the highway, our local correspondent reports.

Due to the blockade, there was a long tailback of vehicles on both sides of the highway. Protesters however allowed emergency service vehicles to go through.

Photo: Dwoha Chowdhury

Around 12:30pm, Jaintiapur Police Station's Officer-in-charge Tajul Islam said, "We are on the way to the spot. Transport leaders will also come to the scene to express their condolences for the deaths."

Sheikh Radek, a local who has been leading the blockade, said, "The highway has become a death trap. But the transport leaders feel no empathy for the victims of the road accidents. They have not even visited the families of the six victims who were killed in the accident yesterday.

"We demand accountability for the deaths and demand a safe highway," he added.

Six of a family, including two children, were killed and several others injured in a head-on collision between a human hauler and a lorry in Darbasta area on the highway at Jaintiapur yesterday morning.