People on Wednesday suffered immensely due to disruptions to the road and rail communications in different places, including the capital Dhaka, across the country as polytechnic students blocked roads, highways and rail lines, demanding reforms in recruitment and promotion in the public service.
The protesting students also demanded a halt to all government activities in support of the demands made by engineering students.
On Wednesday, the protesting polytechnic students blocked busy Sat Rasta crossing in Dhaka for about three hours, the Dhaka-Mymensingh, Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-Gazipur highways in Gazipur for about one and a half hours, the Shapla crossing in Rangpur for two hours and roads and rail lines inside Dinajpur city for about four hours.
The students vowed to continue their movement today inside campuses of the polytechnic institutes.
Same day interim government adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, the head of a government committee working on solving the chaos between engineering students and diploma engineering students over recruitment and promotion in the public service, after a meeting with representatives of the guardians said that another committee was formed to reach a consensus.
鈥楾he students promised not to protest again until the committee submits its report,鈥� he added.
Engineering students held an urgent press briefing at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology Wednesday evening, condemning the polytechnic students鈥� demonstration.
In the capital, several hundred students of Dhaka Polytechnic Institute and Dhaka Mohila Polytechnic Institute, under the banner of Karigari Chhatra Andolan, Bangladesh, blocked roads at Sat Rasta crossing in听 Tejgaon industrial area from about 11:00am to 2:00pm, pressing their four-point demand.
Their demands also included ensuring the highest punishment for the people who had threatened diploma engineers from the Engineers鈥� Rights Movement, a full implementation of the six-point demands raised by polytechnic students and introducing a 鈥榦ne-channel鈥� engineering education system.
A group of Dhaka Polytechnic Institute teachers also joined the demonstration, expressing solidarity with the students鈥� demands.
Karigari Chhatra Andolan general secretary Habibur Rahman Habib alleged that the engineering students were trying to pressurise the government to accept their 鈥榰nreasonable鈥� demands by 鈥榗reating mobs鈥�.
The platform president, Masfik Islam Dewan, at about 2:00pm announced that they would hold countrywide demonstrations today. But, the platform later dropped the demonstration programme.
At about 7:30pm, Masfik told 抖阴精品 that considering public sufferings, they would not hold any blockade today but they would hold the burning scarecrow programme inside the campuses.
On Wednesday, the government committee headed by Fouzul held a meeting at the secretariat in the capital while advisers Syeda Rizwana Hasan, professor Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar and Adilur Rahman Khan were present, among others. The three advisers are also members of the committee.
After the meeting, Fouzul said that the meeting was effective.
抖阴精品鈥檚 Dhaka University correspondent reported that students under the banner of Engineers鈥� Rights Movement at the urgent press briefing at BUET in the evening said that they would announce their future programmes soon.
During the blockade on Wednesday noon, vehicular movement at Tejgaon and its adjacent areas, including Mohakhali and Moghbazar, came to a halt.
Passengers and transport workers inside the stranded vehicles faced immense sufferings.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner for Tejgaon division Ibn Mizan said that police diverted vehicles from different points to ease the traffic congestion.
抖阴精品 correspondent in Rangpur reported that several hundred students of Rangpur Polytechnic Institute and other private technical institutions brought out a procession from their campuses at about 11.30am and marched on the main roads of the city.
听
Later they gathered at the city鈥檚 busy Shapla crossing and blocked the crossing from 12.30pm to 2.30pm.
The blockade caused huge disruptions to traffic movement and hassles to commuters.
Several hundred students of Dinajpur Polytechnic Institute and other private polytechnic institutions in the town blocked the road and rail track in Fulbari bus stand area from 9:00am to 1:00pm.
The blockade halted two intercity trains on the Dhaka-Panchagarh route, causing a long tailback on roads in the adjacent areas.
Hundreds of train passengers and commuters had to face immense sufferings.
抖阴精品 correspondent in Gazipur reported that students of different polytechnic institutions under the banner of Diploma Engineer Welfare Foundation brought out processions at noon.
They started gathering at the Chandona crossing in the metropolitan city.
They blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh, Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-Gazipur highways for one and a half hours from 1:30pm.
Huge traffic congestion created on these busy highways causing sufferings of people on the roads.
Diploma engineering students began their countrywide demonstrations on April 16 to press their seven-point demand.
The Engineers鈥� Rights Movement also launched protest programmes on August 26 to press their three-point demand.
