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Published : 10 Jul 2024, 09:11 PM
Demonstrators protesting against quotas in government jobs have left the streets of Dhaka, saying they will resume the nationwide blockade at 3:30pm on Thursday along with the boycott of classes and exams.
Asif Mahmud, a coordinator of the protests, made the announcement at Shahbagh in the capital on Wednesday before the demonstrators left the intersection around 7:45pm.
“Our demand is clear: the executive must make an announcement to form a commission for reasonable reforms to the quota system. Students will be on the streets until our demand is met,” he said.
The blockade will resume at “every corner of the country, highway and railway”, he said and thanked the protesters for making the “Bangla Blockade” programme a success.
“Even rickshaw-pullers, van drivers and other ordinary people have told us that we'll need to continue the movement for their children’s sake.”
The protesters blocked several parts of Dhaka, including the Science Laboratory intersection, Elephant Road, Shahbagh, Matsya Bhaban intersection near the High Court, Hanif Flyover’s Nimtali area, Bangla Motor, Farmgate, Agargaon and Mohakhali’s Amtali, around 10:30am on Wednesday.
The protests brought traffic to a complete standstill at most parts of the capital, causing immense suffering to commuters.
The protest called by Jahangirnagar University students disrupted traffic on the Dhaka-Aricha Highway.
Rajshahi University students blocked the Dhaka-Rajshahi Highway while protesters from Mymensingh’s Bangladesh Agricultural University sealed the Dhaka-Mymensingh rail line.
Due to the announcement of the blockade programme, there was less traffic on the key roads in Dhaka from Wednesday morning. There were fewer cars and buses plying Airport Road, Mohakhali, Rampura, Motijheel, Mohammadpur and other routes in the capital.
