People blockaded the railway tracks on Saturday at Sylhet and six other junctions and stations in Sylhet division, pressing for an eight-point demand, including the addition of two new trains on the Sylhet-Dhaka and Sylhet-Cox鈥檚 Bazar routes.
The blockade programme disrupted trains鈥� movement for about four hours.
On the day, railway tracks were blockaded at Sylhet, Kularua, Srimangal, Shamshernagar, Bhanugachh, Habiganj and Shaistaganj, leaders of 鈥楨ight-point demands implementation movement鈥� platform said.聽
At Kulaura railway junction, representatives of different political, social and labour organisations and others gathered carrying red flags to blockade the railway lines, starting their protest at around 10:00am. 聽
Coordinator of the platform, Azizul Islam, said that several intercity trains were remained stranded at different stations due to the blockade.
鈥楾he blockade was withdrawn from rail tracks at around 2:00pm after receiving assurances of meeting the demands from the railway authorities,鈥� he said.
Azizul said that on behalf of the Bangladesh Railway authorities, its Dhaka region鈥檚 commercial officer Mohabbat Jan Chowdhury spoke at a brief rally held at the Kulaura Railway Junction in the afternoon.
Former lawmaker Nabab Ali Abbas Khan, Railway鈥檚 Dhaka zone engineer-2 Ahsan Habib, Kulaura upazila nirbahi officer Md Mohiuddin, former upazila chairman Md Fazlul Haque Khan Shahed, upazila Bangladesh Nationalist Party president Joynal Abedin Bachchu and general secretary Badruzzaman Sajal, Kulaura railway station master Roman Ahmed and railway traffic inspector Shahajan Patwari, among others, were present at the programme.
The eight-point demand include: immediate launching of the proposed Tanguar Express on the Dhaka-Sylhet route, two special trains on Sylhet-Dhaka and Sylhet-Cox鈥檚 Bazar routes, a local train on Akhaura-Sylhet section,transforming the Akhaura-Sylhet route into dual gauge, reopening the closed stations, increasing the number of seats for the passengers of Kulaura and Srimangal stations, cancellation of unnecessary stoppages of the Kalni Express and Parabat Express trains, and adding defect-free engines and additional coaches to all trains.
