Train services suspended on Dhaka-Rajshahi route

Train communication between Dhaka and Rajshahi came to a standstill on Wednesday morning as students of Rabindra University staged a rail blockade demanding swift approval and full implementation of the Development Project Proposal (DPP) for the construction of a permanent campus.

The blockade began around 9:00 am at the level crossing near Ullapara Railway Station in Sirajganj, with students chanting slogans.

According to the protesters, although the university was established nine years ago, the DPP for building the permanent campus in Shahjadpur has yet to be approved.

They said repeated appeals have gone unanswered, forcing them to escalate their movement.

Teachers, students, officials, and employees had launched the campaign on 26 July by boycotting the university’s founding day events. Since then, they have organised a series of programmes, including symbolic classes, street plays, protest songs, and road blockades on the Bogura–Nagarbari highway.

On 8 August, they held a human chain at Hatikumrul roundabout, followed by a highway blockade on Sunday (10 August) that disrupted Dhaka–northern region road transport for nearly two hours.

Assistant Station Master of Ullapara Railway Station, Monirul Islam, said police and railway security personnel were deployed at the site and higher authorities had been informed.

He noted that several trains, including the Dhaka-bound Silkcity Express from Rajshahi, the Nonstop Chilahati Express from Chilahati, and the Nonstop Kurigram Express from Kurigram, were expected to depart in the morning and early afternoon, but schedules could face serious disruption due to the blockade.

LND/SAE