Students from different public universities and colleges on Saturday blocked major highways across the country, including Dhaka-Tangail, Dhaka-Rajshahi, Dhaka-Pabna, Dhaka-Rangpur, Sylhet-Sunamganj and in the capital鈥檚 Shahbagh intersection, as protests against the quota system in government jobs intensified.
The blockade on major highways choked traffic causing serious public sufferings, while the students held rallies and protest processions at different spots against the High Court order to reinstate 30 per cent quotas for freedom fighters鈥� children and grandchildren in government job.
Blocking the Shahbagh intersection in the capital on Saturday afternoon, the protesting students announced the 鈥楤angla Blockade鈥� programme for today in front of all educational institutions in Dhaka city and elsewhere across the country from 3:00pm.
鈥榃e will not only block聽 the Shahbagh intersection, but also different points of the capital, including Science Laboratory, Chankharpul, Nilkhet and Motijheel tomorrow (Sunday),鈥� said Nahid Islam, one of the coordinators of the 鈥榮tudent movement against discrimination鈥�, a platform for anti-quota movement.
Announcing Sunday鈥檚 programme as 鈥楤angla Blockade鈥�, he said that the students outside the capital would block highways expressing solidarity with the movement.
Urging teachers and parents to join their movement, Nahid also announced that if their demand was not met, they would go for general strikes and force all offices and courts along with roads, railways and river ways to shut down.
The Appellate Division on Thursday refused to stay the High Court verdict that had asked the government on June 5 to restore freedom fighters鈥� quota in the civil service, sparking fresh anti-quota protests by students.聽
The blockade in the Shahbagh intersection caused long tailbacks in and around Banglamotor, Katabon, Nilkhet, Azimpur, Palashi, Science Laboratory and Elephant Road, among other places.
Before blocking Shahbagh intersection from about 4:15pm to 5:30pm, protestors brought out a procession from in front of the Dhaka University central library that marched through Mall Chattar, Masterda Surja Sen Hall, Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall, Smriti Chirantan Chatwar, Teacher-Students Centre and other places on the campus and then through Bakshi Bazar, Palashi and Azimpur ending at Shahbagh.
The Dhaka University Sociology Debating Club鈥檚 22 members, meanwhile, resigned in protest against the sacking of the club鈥檚 general secretary Mosharraf Hossain for joining the anti-quota movement and giving posts on social media in favour of the quota movement, 抖阴精品 Correspondent in Dhaka University reported.
On the other hand, the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Bangladesh-JSD also expressed solidarity with the students鈥� movement against quota.
The protesting students鈥� four-point demand is cancellation of the HC order that restored the quota system; upholding of the 2018 government circular; ensuring merit-based recruitment in the public service; and appointing qualified candidates from the merit list if eligible candidates are not found in quotas for marginalised communities.
Jahangirnagar University students continued their demonstration against the reinstatement of quotas for the sixth day running on Saturday and gathered in front of the university central Shaheed Minar at about 3:30pm on the day and brought out a procession on the campus, 抖阴精品 correspondent in JU reported.
Protestors also warned to block the Dhaka-Aricha highway for an indefinite period from today after boycotting all classes and examinations.
Chittagong University students also blocked Sholosohor Road, the main road which connected Bohadderhat in the city and Patenga sea beach, in front of the Sholosohor Railway Station鈥檚 Gate-2 in the port city for one hour from 4:00pm.
In Tangail, students of Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway in the Nagarjalfai Bypass area for about two hours on Saturday from 10:00am and removed the barricade about noon after the police had intervened.
The blockade halted vehicular movement on both sides of the highway, resulting in a huge traffic gridlock.
抖阴精品 staff correspondent in Rajshahi reported that several thousand Rajshahi University students blocked the Dhaka-Rajshahi highway in front of the university鈥檚 main entrance gate for one hour from 11:00am.
Aman Ullah Aman, member secretary of RUCSU Andolan Mancha and a coordinator of the movement, said that they would continue their demonstrations until their logical demands were met.
He said that students of several departments had already announced to boycott classes and examinations expressing solidarity with their movement.
In Sylhet, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology students on Saturday afternoon held a rally barricading Sylhet-Sunamganj highway in front of the main entrance to the campus.
In Pabna, students of Pabna Science and Technology University blocked Dhaka-Pabna highway from 11:00am to 12:15pm.
In Rangpur, students of Begum Rokeya University held protests blocking Rangpur-Dhaka highway at the Modern intersection, in the outskirts of the city.
They also brought out a procession from Golchattar at about 3:30pm and reached in front of the main entrance of the university after marching through the main streets on the campus.
On October 4, 2018, the government issued a circular abolishing all the 56 per cent quotas in the civil service in the wake of fierce street protests by the public university students and jobseekers demanding reforms to the quota system introduced in 1972.
The different groups for which quotas in the civil service were created are鈥�30 per cent for freedom fighters鈥� children and grandchildren, 10 per cent for women, 10 per cent for people from underdeveloped districts, 5 per cent for ethnic communities and 1 per cent for physically challenged people.