Farmers Protest and Block Roads Across Bangladesh Amid Fertilizer Crisis
Farmers staged road blockades, broke into a warehouse, and clashed with a severe fertilizer shortage across multiple districts on September 8, 2026. Authorities deployed law enforcement and mobile courts as demonstrations erupted in Kurigram, Rajshahi, Lalmonirhat, Joypurhat, and Magura.
On 08 September 2026, widespread protests erupted across multiple districts in Bangladesh, including Kurigram, Rajshahi, Lalmonirhat, Joypurhat, and Magura, as frustrated farmers took to the streets and highways to demand adequate supplies of agricultural fertilizer. The demonstrations involved intense road and highway blockades, warehouse break-ins, and targeted interventions by administrative officials and law enforcement agencies seeking to restore public order.
In Kurigram's Roumari area, mounting tensions boiled over when farmers grew impatient with delays in fertilizer distribution. Breaking through the tin fencing of a local dealership warehouse known as Messrs Mita Hasan Enterprise, the aggrieved farmers took away over a hundred sacks of urea fertilizer. Meanwhile, in Kurigram's Bhurungamari area, farmers blocked a local road and confined the Upazila agriculture officer after failing to secure necessary fertilizer allocations.
The unrest extended to several other regions on the same day. Farmers demanding fertilizer staged disruptive road and highway blockades in Rajshahi's Puthia—where the highway remained blocked for approximately one and a half hours—as well as in Lalmonirhat. The widespread nature of the crisis prompted active monitoring by local stakeholders and administrative bodies, including representatives from the BADC Fertilizer Dealers Association, the Bangladesh Agriculture and Fertilizer Association, and various local businesses such as Messrs Bhai Bhai Store and Traders and Messrs Salam Traders.
Addressing the escalating situation, Mahbubul Hasan stated, "I am personally visiting various dealer points to monitor the situation. Members of law enforcement agencies are working in the field to keep the situation under control. Some chaos was created at a fertilizer sales center. Later, administration members went to the spot and brought the situation under control." Mahbubul Hasan's remarks underscored the direct intervention of officials on the ground as security forces sought to manage the scattered disturbances.
Legal and administrative actions were swiftly taken in response to the profiteering and irregularities accompanying the shortage. In Joypurhat's Kalai upazila, a mobile court conducted a drive against malpractices, penalizing two dealers a total of 25,000 taka. Concurrently, in Magura, police successfully recovered 328 sacks of illegally hoarded fertilizer and arrested two individuals in connection with the illicit stockpile.
