Students, who have been protesting for the past week against the reinstatement of the quota system in government jobs, demonstrated on Sunday by blockadingthe major roads, intersections and highways in and around Dhaka city and elsewhere in the country as part of their "Bangla Blockade" programme, causing severe gridlocks and sufferings to commuters.
Thousands of students from different universities and colleges, including Dhaka University (DU), Jagannath University and Dhaka College, joined the demonstrations around the capital.
DU students gathered in front of the Central Library at around 3pm and brought out a procession 20 minutes later. From there, they joined a rally at the Shahbagh intersection after parading through different roads of the university.
A group of DU students had also blocked the Chankharpul intersection around the same time, blocking the ramps to get on and off the Mayor Mohammad Hanif Flyover and causing intense traffic jams. They also later joined the rally at Shahbagh.
Students of Dhaka College also demonstratedby blocking the Science Lab intersection in the afternoon. Students of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University blocked the road near their university in the capital's Agargaonarea at around 3:45pm.
City commuters suffered brutally due to huge traffic gridlocks in the surrounding areas of the demonstrations.
The students chanted slogans against the High Court order that paved the way for the reinstatement of quota in government jobs and demandedthe restoration of the 2018 circular that abolished the system.
Meanwhile, all scheduled classes and examinations at public universities across the country came to a halt inthe morning, following the students' earlier announcement calling for a class and exam boycott starting on Sunday.
After nearly six years, on June 5, the High Court ruled that scrapping the 30 percent quota for freedom fighters and their descendants was illegal.
The students on Sunday, which was the seventh day of their protests to realise their demands,saidthey will continue their movement against the reinstatement of the quota system.
Their demands included cancellation of the quota system, reinstatement of the 2018 law - which abolished freedom fighter quota in government jobs, formation of a committee to repair the quota system and seats to be filled based on talent, not quota in instances the latter requirement doesnot produce enough candidates.
MamunBillah, a student of DU’s political science department, told The Business Post that all the students of all batches boycotted classes and exams on Sunday. “We will not end the movement unless our logical demands are met.”
“We don’t know why the quota system in government jobs was reinstated. This is a conspiracy against the country.Many meritorious students will be deprived of their rights. Talented students will leave the country. There is no country in the world where such indiscrimination prevails,” he said.
Many students of Jahangirnagar University blocked the Dhaka-Aricha highway near the campus for around two hours on Sunday. The blockade caused significant traffic congestion, with hundreds of vehicles stuck on both sides of the highway.
Meanwhile, students of Barishal University blockaded the Dhaka-Barishal and Barishal-Kuakata highways. They started their protest march from the campus and took position on the highways at around 11:30am. The protesters were still on the streets till 5pm.
Students of Islamic University also blocked the Kushtia-Khulna Highway from 11am to 1:45pm.
On October 4, 2018, in the face of a massive studentmovement, the government issued a circular cancelling the 10 percent quota for women, the 30 percent quota for the children and grandchildren of freedom fighters and the 10 per cent district quota for government jobs.
However, the circular stated that though the quota system for first and second-class jobs was abolished, the quotas will remain in place for third and fourth-class posts.
Seven people, including Wahidul Islam – the son of a freedom fighter, filed a writ petition in the High Court in 2021 challenging the validity of that circular.
