Local residents in Bhola staged an unprecedented protest on Friday afternoon by lying down in front of the vehicles of three government advisers to press for their longstanding five-point demand, including the construction of the Bhola–Barishal bridge.

The incident occurred at around 5:15pm in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s Office when protesters blocked the cars carrying Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Faozul Kabir Khan, Industries Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan, and Commerce, Textiles and Jute Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin.

The blockade lasted for nearly five minutes before senior BNP leaders, including the district BNP president, intervened and persuaded the protesters to withdraw.

Earlier, around 4pm, the three advisers attended a meeting on the district’s economic development at the DC office conference room. Protesters initially demonstrated inside the venue after being dissatisfied with the response from Adviser Faozul Kabir on the long-promised Bhola–Barishal bridge.

According to the protesters, the assurance they received months ago in Dhaka indicated that work on the bridge would begin by January or February. “But today in Bhola he said feasibility work would start again, with no certainty about when the bridge will be built. That’s why we stood in front of their cars,” one demonstrator said.

They added that the five-point demand has been a longstanding one for the district. “We have waited for years. There must be a clear commitment,” another protester remarked.

The demonstrators also announced further agitation, declaring that they would stage a tougher programme on Saturday in front of the Sundarban Gas Company and the Intraco Refuelling Station Limited office.