A dawn-to-dusk hartal began in Pabna's Bera upazila this morning, enforcing both road and river route blockades to protest the removal of Bera upazila from Pabna-1 constituency.

The Shorbodolio Songram Committee, a movement platform backed by local BNP leaders, called the hartal demanding that Pabna-1 constituency remain unchanged.

Agitators put up barricades at different points of Bera Bus Stand area, halting vehicular movement on the Dhaka-Pabna highway, while shops and other establishments also remained closed. Demonstrations were staged along the highway protesting the Election Commission's decision.

Bera upazila had been part of Pabna-1 constituency since independence. According to a recent gazette notification by the Election Commission, it has now been included in Pabna-2 constituency.

Protesting the decision, people from all walks of life in Bera upazila have been staging demonstrations since early September. Agitators had earlier blocked the Dhaka-Pabna highway at Bera Bus Stand.

"Bera and Santhia upazilas are closely related. A highway divides the two upazilas, while people of both areas are connected through trade and other social activities. Bera upazila has been part of Pabna-1 constituency since independence. Its sudden removal has sparked agitation among residents," Fazlur Rahman Fakir, a BNP leader of Bera municipality, told journalists.

Speaking to The Daily Star, Md Habibul Islam, officer-in-charge of Bera Police Station, said the hartal was being observed peacefully, with additional police deployed at different points of the upazila.

"Vehicular movement has halted and shops are closed," the OC added.

Meanwhile, passengers travelling on the Dhaka-Pabna highway have been suffering due to the hartal.

"I travel from Pabna to Sirajganj every day for work. Due to the sudden hartal in Bera, I was forced to take a CNG-run auto-rickshaw, which took more time and cost me extra," said Pollob Ibne Shayekh, a government employee.

Several hundred vehicles, including trucks carrying goods, remained stranded on both sides of Bera upazila.