Villagers block Dhaka-Ctg highway, demand bus stop

Suffering from lack of transport amid the strict enforcement of banning three-wheelers on Dhaka-Chittagong highway, residents of 10 villages in Chouddogram yesterday blockaded the highway for about an hour.

The villagers from Kalikapur union gathered on the highway in Noabazar area around 9:00am, demanding a bus stop there.

They said two bus services -- Jamuna and Madina -- ply the highway between Chouddogram and Feni. But those do not stop at Noabazar and there has been no transport since law enforcers imposed the ban on three-wheelers on the highway, protesters said.

The agitators cleared the road after about an hour following highway police's assurance of addressing the issue.  

Mahbub Hossain, chairman of Kalikapur union parishad, said, “I understand the reasons behind this demand. In Noabazar, there's a branch of Sonali Bank, a government primary school, a village health care centre, the union parshad office and a number of factories. Thousands of residents of the 10 villages have been suffering due to the transport crisis.”