Complete shutdown at engineering univs today, govt forms committee
Attack on students undesirable in civilised society: BUET VC
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The students of different engineering universities on Wednesday blocked roads in four districts including Dhaka where they clashed with the police as they took to the streets demanding reforms in the recruitment and promotion system of engineers in the public service.
The protesting students on Wednesday evening announced that they would enforce complete shutdown at all engineering universities across the country from today.听
They made the announcement from their blockade at Shahbagh intersection in the capital
In Dhaka, at least 18 people were injured in a clash while the police charged batons and fired teargas shells on the students when they were marching towards the state guesthouse Jamuna from their blockade programme at Shahbagh intersection.
In solidarity, engineering university students blocked the Dhaka-Rajshahi highway in Rajshahi, the Sylhet-Sunamganj highway in Sylhet and different busy city roads in Chattogram.
The government, on the day, formed a committee to review the rationality of the demands while the students, rejecting the committee, made some fresh demands, including the formation of a new committee, an apology from the home affairs adviser for the attack, and action against the police personnel involved in attacking the students.
Terming the attack on the students unacceptable, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology vice-chancellor Professor Abu Borhan Mohammad Badruzzaman said that the charging of batons on students was in no way desirable in a civilised society.
The authorities of the BUET and the Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology, in separate notices, protested at the attack and demanded justice and a fair investigation.
Till 10:00pm on Wednesday, the protesting students kept the capital鈥檚 Shahbagh intersection blocked.
The protesters vowed to continue their protests.
During the road blockades in different cities, commuters and transport workers suffered due to prolonged traffic congestion.
In Dhaka, the protesters, mostly from the BUET, blocked the Shahbagh intersection for the second consecutive day on Wednesday at about 11:30am amid police barricades.
They removed the police barricades and started marching towards Jamuna at about 1:30pm, when the police used water cannons, charged batons, fired teargas shells, and hurled sound grenades on them in front of the InterContinental Dhaka.
At that time, the two sides locked in a clash.
After the clash, the students took position in front of the hotel.
The police again tried to disperse the students at about 3:00pm but failed.
The students held a press briefing in front of the exit gate of the hotel at about 5:00pm, while they raised their demands.
They demanded that all the candidates must pass a recruitment examination and hold at least a BSc (honours) degree to enter into the ninth grade public jobs in engineering, promotions through quotas are not allowed, no promotion can be granted even by creating equivalent positions under different titles, the abolition of the 100 per cent quota for diploma engineers in 10th-grade posts, opening these positions to all eligible candidates, restriction on the use of the title 鈥榚ngineer鈥�.
The chief adviser鈥檚 press wing issued a press release at about 3:30pm stating that the Cabinet Division on Wednesday formed an eight-member committee to review the rationality of the professional demands of the BSc and diploma engineers.
The committee includes four advisers and is headed by the adviser to the ministries of power, energy and mineral resources, road transport and bridges and railways Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan.
The other advisers in the committee are the adviser to the education ministry, Professor Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar, the adviser to the ministries of environment and water resources, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, and the adviser to the ministries of industries and housing and public works, Adilur Rahman Khan.
A circular issued by the Cabinet Division on the day said that the committee would submit its report to the government in one month.
During the press briefing, the protesters rejected the committee, saying that the decision was seen as farcical after the police attack.
They threatened to launch a tougher movement if their demands were not met soon.
At the briefing, the students claimed that 60 students were injured in the police attack, but later, in a statement, they said that the number of the injured was 10.
Clockwise from top left, the police pick a student, police spray from water cannon to disperse the protesting students approaching the state guest house Jamuna, police use sound grenade to disperse the protesters and students block road听听 in front of Hotel InterContinental near Shahbagh where engineering students carry on their protests for the second day on Wednesday. 鈥� Sony Ramani
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At about 5:30pm, they returned to Shahbagh intersection and blocked it again.
City commuters faced hours of severe disruption throughout the day as the blockade at one of the busiest areas in the city brought traffic to a standstill.
Vehicles were stuck in long tailbacks for several hours across Farmgate, Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, Moghbazar, and connecting roads near Shahbagh.
The protesters were not allowing any vehicle, except ambulances, to cross the busy crossing that connects four major city roads.
The patients suffered as they struggled to reach the hospitals in the Shhabagh area.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner for Ramna zone, Masud Alam, told reporters that the protesters forcefully removed the police barricades at about 1:30pm when they used water cannons, charged batons, fired teargas shells and hurled sound grenades to disperse them.
He claimed that the protesters acted aggressively and some of them attacked the police officers with knives.
鈥榃e have not used any force as they had been demonstrating peacefully for two days,鈥� he added.
A DMP press release said that eight police personnel were injured in the incident.
DMP commissioner Sheikh Md Sajjad Ali went to Shahbagh intersection at around 10:30pm where he expressed his sorrow to the protesting students over the incident.
He also said that they would form a committee to probe the incident.
抖阴精品 correspondent in Rajshahi reported that students of Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology on Wednesday blocked the Dhaka鈥揜ajshahi highway in Rajshahi for four hours, protesting against the attack on students in Dhaka.
At about 3:00pm, they put bamboo barricades in front of the university鈥檚 main entrance and halted traffic for several hours, causing immense suffering to passengers and transport operators.
Later, they withdrew their blockade at about 7:00pm.
抖阴精品 correspondent in Chattogram reported that the Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology students blocked different roads in the city protesting the attack.
The protest began at the city鈥檚 2 No. Gate area at about 4:30pm.
The demonstration caused severe traffic congestion across key roads connecting GEC, Muradpur, Oxygen, Chawk Bazar, and the Chattogram Medical Road, leaving commuters stuck for hours.
They continued the blockade till 8:00pm.
Students and teachers of the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology blocked the Sylhet-Sunamganj highway in the afternoon after holding a rally inside the campus, protesting at the attack.