City dwellers suffered for at least three and a half hours until 6:00pm on Sunday as different groups staged separate street protests and a road blockade in front of the Jatiya Press Club and its adjoining areas in the capital, mainly to press home their job-related demands, leading to huge traffic congestion in the area.
Several groups, including the Independent Ebtedayee Madrasah Teachers鈥� Union, the teachers of schools for students with disabilities, and the United Non-MPO Unity Council began separate sit-in demonstrations near the press club in the morning.
Traffic congestion began in the area at about 2:30pm when several thousand teachers, under the platform of the Independent Ebtedayee Madrassah Teachers鈥� Union, brought out a march towards the chief adviser鈥檚 residence Jamuna, and were intercepted by the police at Kadam Foara, after marching a few yards.
Sunday was the 21st day of the continuous sit-in programme of the ebtedayee madrassah teachers in the National Press Club area.
After facing the police barricade, the protesting madrassah teachers sat down, which ultimately blocked one side of the road.
They have been demanding the immediate implementation of the government鈥檚 January 28 announcement that all approved independent ebtedayee madrasahs would be nationalised.
Due to the blockade, traffic movement became standstill on both ends of the blockade point.
As time passed, traffic congestion spread to the nearby areas, which affected several other areas, including Matshyabhaba, Shahbagh, Banglamotor, Paltan, Bijoy Sarani, Naya Paltan, Mouchak, Gulistan, and some other parts of Old Dhaka.
The platform鈥檚 chairman, Mokhlesur Rahman, said that they withdrew their blockade from the road at about 6:00pm after a fruitful meeting with the education ministry officials.
He, however, said that they would continue their movement until their demand was met.
Meanwhile, several thousand teachers under the United Non-MPO Unity Council also staged a sit-in in front of the Press Club, demanding that the government bring all approved non-MPO educational institutions under MPO facilities.
They also brought out a procession in the afternoon. The procession paraded nearby roads.
Teachers and staff members of schools for disabled students, on the other hand, held a march towards the Bangladesh Secretariat in the afternoon, demanding recognition of their institutions and declaration of monthly pay order for them.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police鈥檚 deputy commissioner for media and public relations, Talebur Rahman, in a press release, said that simultaneous street protests by several groups disrupted traffic at different places in the capital.
鈥楾hese (the street protests) have disrupted traffic on several important roads, causing widespread public suffering and severe traffic congestion in some parts of the capital,鈥� he said.
The police said that traffic movement became normal after 6:00pm.
