Law enforcers are repairing the 72-foot rail lines of Bogra-Lalmonirhat route at Chaitantola in Bogra Sadar upazila which was allegedly uprooted by the supporters of BNP-led 18-party alliance Thursday on the third day of 71-hour countrywide blockade. Photo: STAR

Blockaders continue their attack on the railways even today on the third day of the opposition-sponsored 71-hour blockade, removing fishplates, uprooting rail lines, setting fire on rail lines and snapping rail communication on different routes.

Pro-blockade activists ripped up the fishplates from railway tracks of Dhaka-Chittagong route in Comilla Sadar and uprooted 72 feet rail lines of the Bogra-Lalmonirhat route in Bogra Sadar, set fire to rail tracks in Natore while miscreants took away three feet of rail tracks from Santahar-Natore route in Atrai upazila of Rajshahi.

The BNP-led 18-party opposition combine called the countrywide blockade of rail, roads and waterways in protest at the announcement of the schedule for the 10th parliamentary election.

Initially, the blockade was a 48-hour one. But the opposition alliance yesterday extended it by 23 hours in two phases — first by 12 hours in the afternoon and then by 11 hours late at night — protesting the “killing of its activists and government oppression”. The blockade will now end at 5:00am tomorrow.

Meanwhile, train services on Dhaka-Mymensingh route resumed around 11:40am after Dewanganj-bound "Commuter Express" left Joydevpur Railway Station, said Ziauddin Sarker, station master of the railway station.

Rail communication on the route remained suspended for over 60 hours following derailment of a locomotive and five compartments of passenger train “Agnibina Express” at Bankharia in Sripur of Gazipur Tuesday night.

The train derailed as blockaders removed fishplates there.

COMILLA

The blockaders removed the fishplates from rail tracks of Dhaka-Chittagong route at Asoktola in Sadar upazila of the district around 2:00am, halting train services.

Four compartments of Udayan Express derailed following the removal of the fishplates, reports our Comilla correspondent.

No causality was reported immediately, said Shafiqur Rahman, station master of Comilla Railway Station.

Rail communications between Dhaka-Chittagong, Dhaka-Noakhali, Dhaka-Chandpur and Chittagong-Sylhet through Brahmanbaria remained snapped following the derailment, said Md Mainul, assistant station master of Brahmanbaria Railway Station.

Dhaka-bound “Dhaka Mail” got stuck at Laksam Railway Station following the derailment.

While four other trains: Dhaka-bound "Nishita" and "Demu" got stuck in Comilla Railway Station, with Chittagong-bound "Chittagong Mail" and "Turna" getting stuck at Bhairab Railway Junction.

Railway communications resumed around 1:30pm, twelve hours after engineers managed to salvage the derailed compartments at Comilla Railway Station, Shafiqur Rahman, Comilla Railway Station master said.

BOGRA

Rail services disrupted for seven hours from 1:00am today after blockaders uprooted a 72-foot-long railway tracks at Saitantola in Sadar upazila.

On information, railway officials reached the spot around 5:00am and repaired the damaged line after three hours of efforts, said Afzal Hossain, a senior sub-assistant engineer of railway department.

Railway communications of Dhaka with Lalmonirhat, Rangpur and Gaibandha remained suspended for seven hours following the sabotage.

RAJSHAHI

Miscreants cut off and took away three feet of rail tracks of Santahar-Natore route in between Ahsanganj and Birkutsha railway stations early today, said Pankaj Kuma Saha, railway manager of west divisional.

Being informed by railway patrol team around 4:00am, rail officials went to the spot and restored the line after repairing the track, the railway official added.

The railway services between Dhaka-Dinajpur, Rajshahi-Dinajpur and Dhaka-Khulna halted for three hours due to the incident.

NATORE

The activists of Jamaat and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, set fire to the railway tracks at Amhati area in the district town around 9:00am.

On information, police dispersed the activists and cleared the rail lines within half an hour, reports our correspondent quoting Aslam Hossain, officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station.