Protests calling for quotas to be scrapped block Shahbagh intersection for third day

Thousands of students and job seekers gathered at the Shahbagh intersection around 12:15 pm on Thursday

Students and job seekers have blocked the Shahbagh intersection in Dhaka for a third day to demand the reinstatement of the 2018 notification scrapping the quota system for public sector jobs.

Thousands of students and job seekers gathered at the Shahbagh intersection under the banner of the ‘Boishomyabirodhi Chhatra Andolon’ (The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement) around 12:15pm on Thursday.

The protest cut off traffic for all roads leading to and from the intersection.

At 11am, the protesters gathered at the Dhaka University Central Library and brought out a procession. They marched past the Raju sculpture and ended the protest march by blocking the Shahbagh intersection.

They chanted slogans protesting the High Court's decision, saying that public sector recruitment should be based on merit not quotas, and calling for the 2018 notice to be reinstated.