Sajek road blockade forces cancellation of Bonani Bonbihar's 6-7 November Kathin Chibar Dan festival

The Kathin Chibar Dan festival at a Buddhist monastery in Sajek, the tourist centre in Baghaichhari upazila of Rangamati, has been cancelled because of the ongoing road blockade there. The organising committee announced the cancellation of the Sajek Bonani Bonbihar programme scheduled for 6 and 7 November.

The festival is held every year at Sajek's Buddhist monasteries in a solemn and festive atmosphere. With transport disrupted by the current situation, monks, devotees and visitors from far away cannot take part, so the Bonani Bonbihar programme has been cancelled.

A notice from the Sajek Bonani Bonbihar Kathin Chibar Dan celebration committee said that, considering the present situation in Sajek, the festival programme for 6 and 7 November had been cancelled for unavoidable reasons.

The Sajek Gonoodhikar Rokkha Committee and the Sajek Karbari Association began the third phase of an indefinite blockade on the Sajek road on 22 October. After the blockade was relaxed for one day on 1 November, a fourth phase began on 2 November and continued on Friday. Vehicle movement on the Sajek road remains stopped because of the blockade, and law enforcement agencies are on alert at key points.

Tofazzal Hossain, officer-in-charge of Sajek police station, said law enforcement agencies were on alert to avoid any untoward incident.

Meanwhile, the blockaders have declared vehicles carrying agricultural goods and students exempt from the blockade since Wednesday.

The parliamentary standing committee on the Chittagong Hill Tracts affairs ministry has recommended that the ministry be informed of the steps taken for those affected in Sajek. The recommendation was made at the committee's meeting held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban on Thursday.