Avoid Shahbagh: Dhaka grinds to a halt amid engineering students's blockade
The demonstration began around 11am as students pressed a three-point demand, and the blockade was still in force until filing of the report at 8pm.
A daylong blockade by engineering students paralysed the capital's Shahbagh intersection today (27 August), triggering severe traffic congestion and causing immense suffering for commuters, patients and transport workers across central Dhaka.
The demonstration began around 11am as students pressed a three-point demand, and the blockade was still in force until filing of the report at 8pm.
Witnesses reported that traffic was halted from Shahbagh to Kataban, Matsya Bhaban, the InterContinental Hotel crossing and surrounding areas. Buses heading through Shahbagh were forced to turn back, while vehicles coming via Kataban remained stranded for hours. Many passengers abandoned transport and proceeded on foot, with hospital-bound patients and their families being the worst affected.
A heavy police presence surrounded the protest site. At midday, clashes broke out when police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators. However, by the afternoon, students regrouped and reinstated their blockade. Although the government announced a committee to address the crisis, student leaders rejected the initiative.
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Participants included students from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (Cuet), Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (Kuet), Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (Ruet), Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (Sust) in Sylhet, and Dhaka University, among others.
Chanting slogans such as "No quota, only merit" and "We have given blood, we will give more if needed", students demanded that diploma engineers must not be allowed to use the title "engineer" and should not be promoted to the ninth grade.
The protesters also demanded that only graduate engineers be eligible to enter service at the tenth grade.
Commuters' sufferings
The disruption caused widespread anger among commuters. Afzal Hossain, who boarded a bus from Dhanmondi to Paltan, said he spent three hours reaching Kataban before walking the remainder of the way. "I missed a scheduled meeting at the Secretariat because a 20-minute journey turned into a three-hour ordeal," he said, urging protesters to reconsider such methods of agitation.
Bus drivers also bore the brunt of the standstill. "On a normal day, I manage four trips. Today I will not even complete two," said Mohammad Rafiq, a driver of Shikhar Paribahan, stranded at Banglamotor. "Passengers are suffering, and we will not even recover our fuel costs."
Student leaders defended their action. Buet student Sabbir Mahmud said: "We tried to avoid public suffering by holding demonstrations at night. But as our demands were ignored, we were compelled to block the roads. We will not leave until they are fulfilled."
Police officials said they had introduced diversions through Banglamotor and Matsya Bhaban to ease congestion. "Despite our efforts, some choke points experienced gridlock," said Mohammad Shafiqul Islam, deputy commissioner (Traffic, Ramna Division).
