For the second consecutive day, a group of Rajshahi University students blocked the Dhaka鈥揜ajshahi railway tracks near the university station on Sunday, demanding the postponement of the 47th BCS written examinations and protesting against police attacks on demonstrators in Dhaka.
The blockade halted rail communication between Rajshahi and the rest of the country, leaving thousands of commuters stranded at various railway stations in the region.
Around 2:00 pm, about fifty students gathered at the university railway station and obstructed the tracks to press their demands.
Mahbub Alam, a student of applied chemistry and chemical engineering, explained that the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC) had only given the 47th BCS examinees two months to prepare for the written exams, which they considered insufficient.
鈥榃e have been staging demonstrations across the country, demanding the deferral of the 47th BCS written exam. Some of us are even on hunger strike in Dhaka,鈥� he said. 鈥楾ill now, neither the government nor the BPSC has provided a solution. The exam date must be postponed to a reasonable time. If our demands are not met, we will continue our protests.鈥�
Farid Ahmed, general manager (West) of Bangladesh Railway, confirmed that train services in the Rajshahi and Khulna regions were severely disrupted due to the student protests. He said that the blockade caused long delays and cancellations of trains on multiple routes.
鈥楾hree scheduled trains from Rajshahi 鈥� the Kopotakkho Express (2:30 pm), Tungipara Express (3:30 pm), and Padma Express (4:00 pm) 鈥� could not depart due to the ongoing demonstrations on the tracks,鈥� Ahmed told 抖阴精品.
In addition to the disruption in Rajshahi, students also blocked the tracks at Daulatpur Railway Station in Kushtia around 12:30 pm, halting operations there. This affected trains such as the PIK-10 (1:45 pm), Sundarban Express, and Sagardari Express (both scheduled for 4:00 pm).