Blockaders continue their attack on the railways even today on the third day of the opposition-sponsored 71-hour blockade, removing fishplates, uprooting rail lines, setting fire on rail lines and snapping rail communication on different routes.
Pro-blockade activists ripped up the fishplates from railway tracks of Dhaka-Chittagong route in Comilla Sadar and uprooted 72 feet rail lines of the Bogra-Lalmonirhat route in Bogra Sadar, set fire to rail tracks in Natore while miscreants took away three feet of rail tracks from Santahar-Natore route in Atrai upazila of Rajshahi.
The BNP-led 18-party opposition combine called the countrywide blockade of rail, roads and waterways in protest at the announcement of the schedule for the 10th parliamentary election.
Initially, the blockade was a 48-hour one. But the opposition alliance yesterday extended it by 23 hours in two phases — first by 12 hours in the afternoon and then by 11 hours late at night — protesting the “killing of its activists and government oppression”. The blockade will now end at 5:00am tomorrow.
COMILLA
The blockaders removed the fishplates from rail tracks of Dhaka-Chittagong route at Asoktola in Sadar upazila of the district around 2:00am, halting train services.
Four compartments of Udayan Express derailed following the removal of the fishplates, reports our Comilla correspondent.
No causality was reported immediately, said Shafiqur Rahman, station master of Comilla Railway Station.
Dhaka-bound “Dhaka Mail” got stuck at Laksam Railway Station following the derailment.
BOGRA
Rail services disrupted for seven hours from 1:00am today after blockaders uprooted a 72-foot-long railway tracks at Saitantola in Sadar upazila.
On information, railway officials reached the spot around 5:00am and repaired the damaged line after three hours of efforts, said Afzal Hossain, a senior sub-assistant engineer of railway department.
Railway communications of Dhaka with Lalmonirhat, Rangpur and Gaibandha remained suspended for seven hours following the sabotage.
RAJSHAHI
Miscreants cut off and took away three feet of rail tracks of Santahar-Natore route in between Ahsanganj and Birkutsha railway stations early today, said Pankaj Kuma Saha, railway manager of west divisional.
Being informed by railway patrol team around 4:00am, rail officials went to the spot and restored the line after repairing the track, the railway official added.
The railway services between Dhaka-Dinajpur, Rajshahi-Dinajpur and Dhaka-Khulna halted for three hours due to the incident.
NATORE
The activists of Jamaat and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, set fire to the railway tracks at Amhati area in the district town around 9:00am.
On information, police dispersed the activists and cleared the rail lines within half an hour, reports our correspondent quoting Aslam Hossain, officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station.
