Protests by private university students against VAT on tuition fees stop Dhaka in its tracks

Commuters in Dhaka suffered immense hassle as students protest demanding withdrawal of VAT imposed on their tuition fees threw traffic out of gear across the capital city on Thursday.

The suffering started around 10am when agitating students took to the streets in Rampura, Dhanmondi, Gulshan and Bashundhara.

The situation had gone completely out of control by 2pm with the entire stretch of the road to the airport from Mohakhali was chock-a-block with virtually frozen vehicles.

Though there was no report of any vandalism or violence, commuters’ sufferings knew no bounds due to the traffic snarl caused by the students’ demonstrations.

Many harried commuters were compelled to walk long distance in the scorching afternoon heat to reach to their destinations.

The citizens had to face similar chaotic situation even while returning home in the evening.

Capital’s commercial hub Motijheel was virtually paralysed since noon. Traffic came to a halt from Shapla Square to Dainik Bangla to Ittefaq crossing and also on Arambagh Road.

bdnews24.com correspondent Sheikh Abdullah said after seeing the traffic jam in Motijheel area, several left office before scheduled departure and without taking vehicles they made for home on foot.

Many got down from stranded buses at that time while others in exasperation left the rickshaws and started walking.

As the footpaths became overcrowded, pedestrians spilled over to the main roads meandering their ways through the stranded vehicles. 

Traffic movement on the entire stretch from Saat Rastar Morh (roundabout) to Mohakhali had come to a grinding halt right from afternoon to evening.

bdnews24.com’s Chief Economic Correspondent Abdur Rahim Harmachi after being stuck with his motorcycle for 40 minutes at Saat Rastar Morh took a detour via Begunbarhi-Nikunja to reach office at Mohakhali.

He said after failing to move towards Mohakhali even after waiting in the traffic jam from 3.45pm to 4.30pm, he took the diversion.

 Sub-editor of the bdnews24.com Shamima Nasrin said she boarded a bus (route number 6) for Mohakhali from Karwanbazar around 4pm.

Due to the snarl, instead of taking the regular route through Farmgate, the bus from Karwanbazar proceeded towards Saat Rastar Morh.

It took 45 minutes to reach Saat Rastar Morh. But when the bus could not further proceed from there even after waiting for thirty minutes, Nasrin got down and started walking to her destination.

Students of private universities and medical and engineering colleges had been protesting for the past few months against the imposition of a 7.5 percent VAT on their tuition fees.

The discontent came to head on Wednesday when the agitating students of the East West University in Rampura clashed with police, sparking Thursday’s show of protest against the incident and the burden of VAT.

They blocked roads at Uttara, Basundhara Abashik Gate, Rampura, Mohakhali Wireless Gate, Dhanmondi-27 and Ashulia.

The blockade at Uttara’s House Building area halted traffic heading for the airport. A similar situation developed on the Pragati Sarani going towards Badda.

The traffic disruption on these roads had a cascading effect on other areas.

Traffic movement ceased at Mohakhali Wireless Gate after 11am, as students of BRAC University blocked the road.

This led to severe traffic congestion on the road leading to Gulshan from Badda, the roads around Gulshan-1 and 2, and in the Amtali and Rail Gate areas of Mohakhali.

Agitation by East West University students caused huge tailbacks on Merul Badda on Pragati Sarani and DIT Road at Rampura. People, caught in the mess, were seen waiting for hours before they could make their way.

A commuter waiting for a vehicle at the Biswa Road roundabout told bdnews24.com around noon that his wait for nearly an hour had been futile.

At one stage, cars on their way to Mohakhali from the airport were besieged by stranded commuters.

Farooq Ahmed, one of the many stuck on Thursday, walked all the way to the airport from Uttara’s House Building and then managed to hop into a car that had taken a u-turn towards city.

He told bdnews24.com there was trouble in the House Building area.

Many people waked to their destinations from Gulshan-1, where no traffic moved for hours.

Hundreds of vehicles stood stationary from Coca Cola crossway to Norda intersection, and from Kuril Bishwa Road to Boshundhara roundabout, as students of the North South University took control of the thoroughfares.

The Mirpur Road was similarly affected as students of Stamford University besieged the road at Dhanmondi-27.

“There is a severe traffic jam on Mirpur Road because of an agitation by students of Daffodil University,” Farzana Chowdhury, a commuter, told bdnews24.com from New Market in Uttara.

The social media saw a flood of angry posts through the day, decrying the misery.