BNP lawmaker Shahadat Hossain Selim, who represents Lakshmipur-1 (Ramganj), alleged in a post on his verified Facebook account that an influential section of the administration is working to portray the current government as a failure. His comments followed severe congestion on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway, which he said caused extensive public suffering.

Selim said the traffic jam stretched from Chandina to Ashariachar in Narayanganj for 32 consecutive hours from last Friday night. He said patients were stranded in ambulances, including a reported death, while many expatriates missed scheduled flights. He warned that the situation could become more severe unless the “irresponsible” group is identified and strict action is taken.

According to Selim, parliamentary whip ABM Ashraf Uddin Nizan held a virtual meeting with officials from Cumilla and Narayanganj, including district administrators, police superintendents, highway police and road department officials. Selim said Nizan criticized the lack of advance public notice before bridge repairs and said notices through newspapers, television scrolls and social media could have enabled travellers to use alternative routes. Selim also called for exemplary punishment of officials over alleged poor coordination and lack of accountability.