Train operations between Dhaka and 16 northern districts were suspended on Wednesday after Rabindra University students blocked the Ullapara Railway Station in Sirajganj to demand the swift approval of a long-pending development plan.
Eyewitnesses said the protest began at 9:00am at the station’s rail gate, with students pressing for the government’s approval and implementation of the Development Project Proposal (DPP) for the university’s permanent campus in Shahjadpur. They said that although the institution was established nine years ago, the project remains stalled despite repeated appeals.
“We have been asking for years, but nothing has happened. This blockade is our last resort,” a student protester told reporters.
Ullapara Railway Assistant Station Master Monirul Islam said police and railway security personnel were deployed to the site. He confirmed that several key trains — including the Silkcity Express from Rajshahi to Dhaka at 9:39am, the nonstop Chilahati Express at 11:28am, and the nonstop Kurigram Express at 1:47pm — were likely to face major disruptions.
The latest blockade follows weeks of escalating protests. On 26 July, students, teachers, and staff boycotted Rabindra University Day events over the same demand. In recent days, the movement has included highway blockades, street theatre, protest songs, symbolic classes, and human chains.
Last Thursday, protesters formed a human chain at Hatikumrul roundabout. On Sunday, they blocked the Bogura–Nagarbari highway, cutting off road communication between Dhaka and northern districts for nearly two hours.