Quota protest spreads as students announce nationwide 'Bangla Blockade'
The protest against the reinstatement of quotas in government jobs has escalated, with demonstrating students announcing a nationwide blockade programme called "Bangla Blockade" starting tomorrow.
Under the Bangla Blockade programme, students across the country joining the movement will block major highways and roads in front of all educational institutions at 3pm tomorrow.
The announcement came after students from various public universities gathered in the capital's Shahbagh, blocking the intersection and halting traffic from 5:15 pm to 6:15 pm today.
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During the Shahbagh sit-in, Nahid Hasan, a leader of the movement and a student of Dhaka University's Sociology Department, said, "The government thought that we would get tired after one or two days of demonstrations. We have been conducting a peaceful movement till now. If necessary, we will be forced to organise programmes like hartal across the country," he said.
"The blockade programme will start at 3pm tomorrow [7 July]. We will not just sit in Shahbagh. The students will gather at every point, including Shahbagh, Neelkhet, Motijheel, and Science Lab, and make the programme a success. Students will block all highways outside the capital as well," Nahid added.
Since 2 June, university students have been holding sit-ins, organising marches and blocking roads and highways, demanding the cancellation of the High Court order restoring a 30% quota for freedom fighters' children and grandchildren in government jobs and demanding the reinstatement of the 2018 quota cancellation circular.
Today, they gathered around VC Chattar in Dhaka University premises at around 2:30pm and brought out a procession that circled the university campus, starting from the Central Library at 3pm.
Later on, students gathered at the Shahbagh intersection at 4pm and wrapped up their programme at 6:15pm. Police personnel were stationed around the sit-in program.
Protests spread across the country
Today, students of Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University (MBSTU) also blocked the Dhaka-Tangail Bangabandhu Bridge highway.
They blocked the highway's Nagar Jalpai Bypass area from 11am to 12pm, causing a 20-kilometre tailback on both sides of the road.
Several passengers and bus drivers expressed solidarity with the students, even though they had been stuck on the highway for two and a half hours due to the quota protest, reports the TBS correspondent.
Students from Rajshahi University also held demonstrations, with four key demands, including abolishing the quota system in government jobs.
They gathered in front of the Senate Building of the university around 11am today and marched to the main gate of the university.
Later, they blocked the Rajshahi, Natore, and Dhaka highways for about an hour. The students later participated in a street play on Paris Road within the campus.
Students from 11 departments of Cumilla University have boycotted all classes and exams as part of their protest against quotas in government jobs.
Cumilla University has 19 departments in total. Many departments are preparing to participate in the boycott as of filing this report.
