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Road blockade disrupts transport in Rangamati and Khagrachhari

Published : Saturday, 24 October, 2026 at 4:50 PM

Observer Online Report

A half-day blockade of road and waterways began in Rangamati and Khagrachhari early on Saturday, disrupting traffic on key routes, while transport services on the Rangamati-Chattogram road and Kaptai Lake remained operational.

The programme, called by an organisation named the Student-People’s Struggle Council, is scheduled to continue until noon. The group said it was protesting an attack on a road blockade in Sajek, alleged beatings and vandalism of homes and shops, and expressing solidarity with the demands of Sajek residents.

Traffic remained suspended on the Rangamati-Khagrachhari road, and no long-distance buses left Khagrachhari. Protesters burned tyres at several locations and blocked roads with tree trunks and felled trees.

In Rangamati, protesters placed tree trunks and lit fires at Khampapara in Sapchhari and Dharmaghar in Kutukchhari. A procession also took place from Kutukchhari Haat Bazar to Dharmaghar.

However, traffic remained normal on the Rangamati-Chattogram road and on internal roads in Rangamati town, including those around Banarupa and Kalyanpur markets. Launch services on Kaptai Lake were also operating normally.

Mohammad Yousuf, joint general secretary of the Rangamati Bus-Minibus Workers’ Union, said bus services on the Chattogram route were running as usual, but all bus services on the Rangamati-Khagrachhari route had been suspended.

Rangamati Kotwali Police Station’s investigation officer, Mohammad Mokhlesur Rahman, said no untoward incident had been reported in the district in connection with the blockade.

In Khagrachhari, protesters burned tyres near Chengi Bridge and in the Swonirbhar area, as well as near the agricultural research area on the Khagrachhari-Dighinala road and Jorabridge in Guimara on the Chattogram-Khagrachhari road. Trees were cut down to obstruct traffic at Sapmara on the same highway.

Some auto-rickshaws were seen operating in parts of Khagrachhari town. Overnight buses arriving from Dhaka reached the town under police escort, while some delayed buses remained in Ramgarh and were asked to proceed after noon.

Khagrachhari Police Station officer-in-charge Md Kay Kisl u said police had escorted the buses into the town. He added that protesters had tried to create disorder by burning tyres at several locations, but law enforcement personnel dispersed them. The situation was calm at the time of reporting.

Student-People’s Struggle Council president Ushaton Chakma said the organisation was trying to maintain the blockade peacefully. However, he alleged that law enforcement personnel had obstructed its members while they were picketing in Betbunia.

Sajek Police Station officer-in-charge Tofazzal Hossain said army and police patrols had been strengthened in the area. No picketing had been reported there, but vehicle movement had also stopped.

The blockade was announced in a statement signed by the council’s organising secretary, Nirmal Chakma, on Thursday. The statement sought support from democratic and progressive organisations in the Chattogram Hill Tracts, as well as vehicle owners’ and workers’ groups in Rangamati and Khagrachhari. Ambulances, fire service vehicles, vehicles carrying emergency medicines and journalists’ vehicles were exempted.

Local sources said the council was mainly supported by the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF). A UPDF member, however, denied the claim, saying the organisation was not backed by the party.

Separately, the Sajek Public Rights Protection Committee and the Sajek Karbari Association announced an indefinite blockade of the Sajek tourist road on Wednesday, putting forward three demands. It was the third such blockade called by the two organisations. One of their key demands is the withdrawal of armed members of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (JSS), led by Santu Larma, from Sajek.

The JSS rejected the allegation. Its information and publicity secretary, Sajib Chakma, accused the UPDF’s armed members of long-standing oppression and harassment of local residents in Sajek, saying the allegations against the JSS were intended to divert attention from those incidents.

Following the announcement of the indefinite blockade, Rangamati district administration temporarily closed Sajek Valley over security concerns. A public notice signed by Deputy Commissioner Nazma Ashrafi said the tourist destination would remain closed until further notice and instructed tourists to leave Sajek safely by 4:00 PM on Thursday.

Tourists began leaving on Thursday morning but encountered obstruction by protesters near Ujo Bazar. Security personnel later cleared the way for their convoy. Gunfire broke out at around 11:00 AM.

Law enforcement agencies said armed UPDF members had fired at tourists and security personnel, a claim the UPDF denied.

Amid the tensions, 2,933 tourists stranded in Sajek were escorted to Khagrachhari town by security forces at around 1:00 PM on Thursday.

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