Rock lifters block highway protesting use of dredger
As manual rock lifters blocked Panchagarh-Tentulia highway in Tentulia and Panchagarh Sadar upazilas protesting extraction of rock by dredgers, Panchagarh transport owners and workers kept buses haphazardly at different points in the town yesterday to protest the blockade by the rock lifters.Photo: STAR
Several hundred manual rock lifters barricaded different points of Panchagarh-Tentulia highway under Sadar and Tentulia upazilas yesterday protesting extraction of rock by dredgers. Vehicular movement on the road remained suspended for about four hours from 10:00am due to the agitation. Over a hundred vehicles, including long distance passenger buses and goods-laden trucks remained stranded, much to the sufferings of traders and commuters. Import and export activities at Banglabandha land port was also disrupted due to the protest programme. Police and local sources said, the rock lifters put up road barricades in Bhajanpur, Buraburi Bazar areas under Tentulia upazila and Dashmile under Sadar upazila with the help of electric poles, vechiles and tree trunks, demanding steps to stop use of dredger machines. Protesting the highway block, transport owners and workers also barricaded several roads in the town. The leaders of the workers alleged that a vested quarter was lifting rocks with dredger machines illegally, 'managing' the ruling party leaders and officials of civil and police administration and ignoring the threat of ecological disaster. Contacted, general rock lifters' leader Muktarul Haque, chairman of Tentulia upazila, told this correspondent over cell phone that the use of dredgers would leave hundreds of people of the area unemployed. A decision to stop use of dredger machine was taken at a meeting at Panchagarh deputy commissioner's office on June 30 but to no effect yet, he said. The manual rock lifters withdrew the barricade at about 2:00pm following an assurance by DC Md Toffazzol Hossain Mian of taking steps to stop rock lifting by dredgers. The transport leaders also withdrew their road barricade at the request of the DC. Earlier on July 16, the manual rock lifters observed a similar day-long road barricade programme to realise their demands.
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