Daylong traffic congestions crippled the commuters’ movement across the capital as the students of Dhaka University-affiliated seven colleges blocked roads for over six hours for the second day running on Wednesday, demanding a separate university.
The traffic gridlock turned intense as the students of Dhaka City College also blocked roads in Dhanmondi area and aspiring government jobseekers blocked road in Shahbagh area. Â
The interim government’s adviser for the education ministry Wahiduddin Mahmud on the day asked the students of the seven colleges for patience, urging them to refrain from creating public sufferings and return to their respective educational institutions.
Rejecting the statement, the protesting students vowed to continue their movement until fulfilment of their demands.
They are scheduled to conduct online campaign for two days from today and announce a stern movement on November 2 if their demand is not met.
Several hundred students of seven colleges—Dhaka College, Begum Badrunnesa Government Girls’ College, Eden Mohila College, Government Bangla College, Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College, Government Titumir College, and Kabi Nazrul Government College—blocked the Science Lab crossing around 11:00am halting vehicular movement.
Their demands are a separate autonomous university to govern these seven colleges and formation of a commission to facilitate the transformation once the university is founded.
During the over six-hour blockade, the traffic collapsed over a vast area, including New Market, Shahbagh, Elephant Road, Hatirpool, Banglamotor, Kalabagan, Green Road and Dhanmondi.
People were seen walking to their destinations as vehicles were stranded in rows for hours.
The transport workers were seen passing lazy times on their vehicles.
A resident of Azimpur, Ataur Rahman who had a doctor’s appointment at Labaid Specialised Hospital in Dhanmondi at 2:00pm was seen walking as the students prevented even rickshaws from running on the road.
‘It’s a struggle for me to walk such long distance,’ he added.
Aklima Khan, a housewife living in Mohammadpur, said that she came to New Market to by some goods and was stuck with heavy bags.
Some ridesharing drivers said that they could not earn much since Tuesday for the demonstrations.
The students were seen allowing some ambulances to pass.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police New Market zone assistant commissioner Tariq Latif said that their repeated requests failed to persuade the students to lift the blockade.Â
They diverted traffic at different points, including Dhanmondi 27, Plassey crossing and Katabon to mitigate passengers’ sufferings, he added.Â
The education ministry on October 24 formed a 13-member committee to solve the academic and administrative problems of the seven colleges.
Wahiduddin Mahmud in his Wednesday statement said that after the interim government had assumed power students and teachers from different educational institutions were staging protests on roads with different demands causing public suffering.
It read that a committee was already formed which would submit a report within seven weeks.
Urging the students to be patient, the adviser also called on them to return to their educational institutions by not causing public suffering.
Addressing a press conference before closing the blockade about 5:15pm at Science Lab crossing, Kabi Nazrul Government College student Azam Khan said that the statement did not reflect the demand for a commission.
‘The statement disappointed us,’ he said, announcing that they would conduct an online campaign on Thursday and Friday.
On November 2, they would announce tougher movement like hunger strike, he added.
The Dhaka City College students blocked the Bir Uttam MA Rab road in front of their college at Dhanmondi at noon, demanding resignation of its acting principal and vice-principal, aggravating traffic congestions.
About noon Government Titumir College students also blocked road at Mohakhali, sparking a huge gridlock. Â
Another group of protesters, demanding 35 years as the age limit for entry to government jobs, held a demonstration at Shahbagh crossing disrupting vehicular movement in that area.
‘At a stage they started a rally towards the Secretariat about 2:30pm,’ said Shahbagh police officer-in-charge Md Khalid Mansur.
He said that as Section 144 was imposed in the Secretariat area they dispersed the demonstrators by firing water cannons.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police additional commissioner for traffic Khandaker Nazmul Hasan told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· about 6:00pm that the daylong protests in so many spots virtually stopped the traffic in the whole city.Â
‘As the traffic system is like a human body when it comes to a standstill in a part of a city the entire city’s traffic is affected,’ he said, mentioning that the students left Mohakhali area about 3:00pm.