Different protests across the capital on Monday caused huge sufferings to its people due to resultant traffic gridlocks together with an inclement weather.
Police foiled a march of sacked members of the erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles towards the chief adviser鈥檚 official residence Jamuna by charging batons, firing sound grenades, and spraying water on them at Kakrail.
A large protest of some 20,000 unsuccessful candidates of the latest non-government teacher鈥檚 registration examinations brought聽 out a procession at Shahbagh demanding certificates despite being unsuccessful in viva voce and then marched to Eskaton to besiege the Non-Government Teachers鈥� Registration and Certification Authority office for a few hours.
At Mohakhali, some students of Govt Titumir College held a human chain in front of their college demanding that their institution be made a university.
People on roads, especially office-goers and school-college students and their guardians, were seen stranded in traffic congestions at different places in the city, including Shahbagh, Ramna, Kakrail, Matsya Bhaban, Eskaton, Banglamotor, Segunbagicha, Razarbagh, Nayapaltan, and Mohakhali.
Many were seen walking on the roads in rains. As protests were staged during afternoon, students of different educational institutions started to return home after their classes intensifying distresses of the road users.聽聽聽
Several hundred sacked BDR members and their families at about 11:00am started a march towards CA residence Jamuna from the Shahbagh crossing to press home their demands, including reinstatement into jobs and release of imprisoned BDR members.
Police charged protesters when the march reached near the Kakrail crossing at about 12:00pm.聽
BDR Kalyan Parishad president Faizul Alam alleged that police, like during the ousted Sheikh Hasina regime, charged batons, and fired sound grenades and teargas shells to disperse them.
He claimed that about 60 protesters were injured in the police attack at Kakrial while police detained 15 protesters, including women, and kept them at the Ramna police station.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ramna Division deputy commissioner Masud Alam said that they used force like spraying water and fired sound grenades to disperse them to avert public sufferings.
鈥榃e did not charge batons but pushed them away to free the place. We detained 12 people for creating chaos on the spot,鈥� he said, claiming that a dozen of police personnel were hurt while dispersing the protesters.
The DC Ramna later said that 12 people were released by a judicial magistrate court after realising Tk 200 as fines from them.
Following the 2009 BDR mutiny, besides the families of the slain officers, survivors, sacked BDR members and their families as well as a group of students who led the 2024 July mass uprising also took to the streets to raise voice for justice for the killing of 74 people, including 57 army officers, in the incident.
At about 12:30pm at the Shahbagh crossing, some 20,000 unsuccessful candidates of the 18th teacher鈥檚 registration examinations started a procession and ended it on the road at the NRTCA office in the capital.
During the march, a huge number of vehicles got stranded in the adjacent areas.
They laid siege to the NRTCA office building from around 12:30pm to 3:00pm, said protesters and officials.聽
Claiming that the failed candidate were trying to get their demand met by creating mob, NTRCA chair Mohammad Mofigur Rahman said that recently 79 failed candidates filed two writ petitions with the High Court and the court ordered the NTRCA on July 2 to provide certificates to these candidates.
鈥榃e got the copy of the order on July 3,鈥� he said, adding, 鈥榃e and some of the candidates who passed the entire exam and got recommendations for the certificates filed separate appeals against the petitions.鈥�
The hearing would be held today (Tuesday) and if the petitions favour the petitioners these 79 candidates would get certificates, the chair added.
Meanwhile, a section of candidates who passed the exam organised a human chain in front of the NTRCA office in the morning till around 12:00pm demanding immediate distribution of certificates among them and protesting the activities of the failed candidates.聽聽
Meanwhile, between 12:00pm and 1:00pm, some students of the Govt Titumir College formed a human chain in front of their college halting traffic movement on the Bir Uttam AK Khandakar Road, popularly known as Mohakhali-Gulshan road.
Earlier, on December 29, 2024, the education ministry formed an expert committee to formulate an outline for an independent institutional structure equivalent to a university for the then seven colleges, affiliated with Dhaka University, following their massive movement in October the same year.
Currently the colleges are not affiliated with the DU.
The students of Govt Titumir College, however, continued to demand a separate university for them with a pause in recent months.
Mosharraf Hossain, a protester, said that they had resumed their protest again since Monday and they would announce new programmes soon.
