The road blockade called under the banner of ‘Jumma Students and People’ in Khagrachhari continued on Tuesday. At the same time, Section 144 imposed by the administration remains in effect in the district’s Sadar and Guimara upazilas. Although the blockade on the Chattogram–Khagrachhari and Dhaka–Khagrachhari highways has been somewhat relaxed, long-distance bus services have not resumed. Only a few auto-rickshaws and battery-run three-wheelers were seen on the internal roads.
On the other hand, although six representatives of the protesting ‘Jumma Students and People’ held a meeting with the Advisor to the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs on Monday afternoon, it had no visible impact on the ground. Rather, protesters expressed anger after the advisor, during a media briefing in Rangamati, tagged the protesters as affiliated with the UPDF (United People’s Democratic Front).
After 11 a.m. Tuesday, while some shops were seen open in the alleys of the Khagrachhari municipal area and a few people moved about, the central Shapla Chattar area remained nearly deserted. Security forces were deployed there. Most shops were closed. Groups of more than two or three people were not allowed to walk together, and even individuals were being questioned. Only a few tomtoms (battery-run auto-rickshaws) were seen operating in the town.
Rokon Chowdhury, General Secretary of the Khagrachhari Road Transport Owners’ Group, stated that although the blockade had been relaxed since Sunday afternoon, public transportation could not return to normal. All bus counters remained closed on Tuesday. Under normal circumstances, around 100 specialized public transport vehicles operate daily from Khagrachhari to different districts of the country, which often doubles or triples during the tourist season.
He also said that despite public transportation being a major sector affecting people’s lives, no communication has been made by the administration or law enforcement agencies with them.
The meeting between the protesters and the CHT Affairs Advisor also yielded no tangible results. Moreover, the advisor’s comment linking the protesters to the UPDF has sparked further resentment among them.
At least three participants of the meeting told Samakal that what matters most to the people is the acceptance of the eight-point demands. “So many lives lost, so much bloodshed, so much loss of property—this is no matter for political games,” one said. “Yet, the advisor, despite being an honorable person, is speaking differently at different places.”
The Resident Medical Officer (RMO) of Khagrachhari District Hospital said that 14 injured individuals from Guimara were brought to the hospital. Among them, 13 are still under treatment, and one was transferred to Chattogram Medical College Hospital.
Khagrachhari’s Superintendent of Police, Arefin Jewel, said that the army, BGB, police, and other law enforcement agencies are patrolling to keep the law and order situation under control. No untoward incidents have been reported since Monday.
Earlier, on Saturday, clashes and vandalism broke out between hill people and Bengali settlers centering the blockade. Following the incident, Section 144 was imposed in the Sadar upazila, municipal areas, and Guimara upazila, to remain in effect until further notice.
When asked about the meeting with the protesters and the overall situation, District Commissioner ABM Iftekhar Uddin Khandaker stated that Section 144 will remain in place until the blockade is lifted, and that a large number of security personnel have been deployed to ensure public safety.
It is worth noting that on September 23, allegations of gang rape of a schoolgirl in Khagrachhari town sparked the ongoing anti-rape movement, which has heated up the entire district. During the blockade, on Sunday, a clash between law enforcement and locals in Guimara led to three deaths. In the same incident, a Major of the Army, 13 army personnel, the Officer-in-Charge of Guimara police station, and several local residents were injured.
The three individuals killed in the clash have been identified. They were residents of Hafchhari Union in Guimara Upazila, aged between 20 and 22.
Police confirmed the deceased as:
According to DIG Ahsan Habib Palash of the Chattogram Range Police, post-mortems have been completed. Ten people were injured in the violence; one of them was referred to Chattogram Medical College Hospital, while the rest were admitted to local hospitals.
