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Published : 04 Nov 2025, 03:39 PM
Police have blocked a March to Jamuna programme by job-seeking graduates with disabilities who initially gathered at the foot of the Raju Memorial Sculpture to press home their five-point list of demands, including a quota in government jobs.
The graduates with disabilities, who are on their 17th-day of a sit-in demonstration, started their march towards the official residence of Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus at around 2pm on Tuesday with symbolic shrouds tied around their heads. When the march reached Shahbagh Police Station, they were blocked by law enforcers.
A job seeker told bdnews24.com, "We were taking our five-point list of demands to the government. As on previous days, we have been stopped today too. We condemn this despicable act. We want the barricades to be lifted immediately so we can go towards the Jamuna.
"If they do not let us go by 5pm or do not release a statement in solidarity with our demands, we will be forced to launch a hunger strike to the death."
Another protester told bdnews24.com, “We have been standing in front of the Raju Sculpture for 17 days, 24 hours a day with these demands. Every day we want to go to the chief advisor to present our demands, but the police stop us. We started the march today with burial shrouds tied around our heads.
“We want to tell the chief advisor -- we are already dead. We are leading a death march. Either kill us, or grant us our constitutional rights. You don’t even need to buy shrouds, we have brought them with us.”
The protesters have gathered at the foot of the Raju Sculpture since Oct 19 to push for their demands. They are:
>> The setting of an independent 2 percent quota for people with disabilities in first and second class jobs and a 5 percent independent quota for people with disabilities in third and fourth class jobs
>> The provision of special appointments to disabled graduates through an executive order
>> Amendment of the existing uniform national dictation policy
>> Arrangement for special recruitment of visually impaired job seekers in vacant posts at Physically Handicapped Training (PHT) centres
>> Raising the age limit for graduates with disabilities to 35 years for government jobs.
