Truck workers blocked the Dinajpur-Gobindaganj regional highway for three hours on Saturday, protesting a physical altercation between a driver and a local businessman’s son in Phulbari.
The barricade began around noon at the Dhaka intersection with stranded hundreds of vehicles and caused severe suffering for commuters. Traffic finally returned to normal by 3:00 PM after local Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders mediated a peaceful resolution between the conflicting parties.
The dispute originated on Friday night when truck driver Al Amin arrived to deliver animal feed to a local store. A disagreement between the driver and the store owner’s son over the warehouse's location quickly escalated into a physical fight. In retaliation the transport workers barricaded the highway the following day.
To ease the ensuing traffic crisis, a delegation of local BNP leaders, directed by Upazila BNP President Khurshid Alam Moti facilitated talks with Phulbari Truck Workers Union representatives. Following a successful compromise with the workers withdrew the blockade.
Moti criticized local law enforcement for failing to defuse the tension on Friday night. He emphasized that while the workers had the right to seek legal recourse, holding the public hostage through a road blockade was unacceptable.
Phulbari Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shah Abdul Latif acknowledged the incident, stating the highway blockade occurred because an initial promise to settle the dispute out of court had fallen through.
