Students and job seekers continued their protests on Thursday, demanding the reinstatement of 2018 circular that abolished quota system in government jobs.
The protesters have blocked the Shahbagh intersection, halting all vehicular movement and causing significant traffic congestion.
Around 11am, the demonstrators began their protest march in front of the Dhaka University central library and later gathered at Shahbag intersection after parading various roads on the university campus, passing by the Raju sculpture at TSC.
The protesters chanted slogans such as "Quota or merit, merit merit," "The essence of the Liberation War is equality of opportunity," "No place for discrimination in Bangabandhu's Bengal," "No place for discrimination in the Bengal of the Liberation War," "Spread the word across Bengal, bury the quota system," and "One demand, one goal, no more quota."
The march reached Shahbagh intersection at 12:18pm, where a large number of police officers were already stationed. However, the police did not obstruct the protesters. The demonstrators at Shahbagh are currently chanting slogans and delivering speeches against the quota system.
Yesterday, under the banner of "Anti-Discrimination Student Movement," students and job seekers organised a protest march and blocked the Shahbagh intersection for about an hour and a half. The protesters have been staging continuous demonstrations since 1 July.
This morning, members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) locked the gate of Dhaka University's Surya Sen Hall to prevent students from joining the protests. As a result, many students were unable to participate in the march. The gate was later unlocked following criticism, but some students were still not allowed to leave the hall.
