Rayhanul Islam :
Shahbagh turned into a battle zone last evening as police went into chasing
students and job seekers who were demonstrating in the intersection from noon demanding reforms in quota system in bureaucracy.
The Shahbagh area became ablazed in the afternoon as demonstrators engaged with police who were trying to disperse them and clear the road to traffic. Demonstrators burnt tiers and dry woods and threw brickbats at police.
Jatiya Sangsad went into session yesterday and demonstrators demanded the lawmakers to take a decision to revise the quota system while vowing to continue their movement until the system has been revised.
Several dozens demonstrators were injured in the clash including one Abu Bakar Siqqiq of Bangla department, Dhaka University, hit by rubber bullet in his eye. Several police members were also injured. Police sprayed hot water at the demonstrators to clear the area. As the night deepens, there is no sign of respite till writing this report at 11 pm. The standoff between police and demonstrators at the Shahbag area continues.
Protestors slammed the existing quota system which reserves 56 percent of seat for
three percent people now exploiting the privileges for several vested interest groups. The demonstration yesterday broke out not only in the Dhaka University area along with many other public universities such as Jahangir Nagar, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Chittagong, Cumilla, Bogura.
Job seekers say public service has become exclusively hostage to elite groups now
running the country. But when it comes about the constitutional right of all citizens, the state now has no answer except protecting the privilege of the privileged classes. Nowhere in the world quota in the government’s job is protected by law for any privileged class except for 15 years for members of a seriously depressed
community.
As the agitation at the Shahbagh got momentum last evening police and other law enforcers went on action around 8:00pm trying to disperse them from the city streets.
Hasan Al Mamun, coordinator of “Bangladesh Shadharan Chhatra Odhikar Sangrakkhan Parishad”, told The New Nation that the law enforcers fired several hundred tear gas canisters and charged batons to clear the area. Over hundred protesters were injured.
As a result, protesters became divided into several groups and some of them took shelter at Fine Arts Faculty building. Some others groups at the same time laid siege on the residence of the Dhaka University Vice Chancellor demanding answer why police have entered the campus area and beating students.
Demonstrators have called protest in all educational institutions today and many fear the situation may become further volatile if the government does not take steps to cool down the situation. Students yesterday gathered under the banner of “Bangladesh Shadharan Chhatra Odhikar Sangrakkhan Parishad” at Dhaka University Central Library and marched to occupy Shahbagh intersection at around 2:30pm.
Since then, traffic was completely halted at the intersection and police took up positions at the scene with water cannons.
At the time the protesters burned an effigy of Public Administration Ministry Senior Secretary Md Mozammel Haque Khan.
As part of quota reforms programme, students of Jahangirnagar and Rajshahi universities also brought out protest processions on their campuses yesterday demanding the quota reforms.
The students of Jahangirnagar University blocked Dhaka-Aricha highway for 30 minutes as part of the ongoing agitation.
Chittagong University students formed a human chain demanding reform of the quota system. They also held a rally in the campus in this regard.
Later, they blocked the Chittagong-Rangamati Highway for some time to press home their demand.
The protesters, calling for quota reforms, are holding protest for quite some time.
On March 14, the protesters attempted to hand over a five-point charter to Secretariat, but they were blocked by police on their way leading to several arrests.
Coordinator of the movement Md Ujjal Mia yesterday said until parliament agrees to reform the quota system the movement will continue.
He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addressing a rally in Chattagram on March 21 said any seat left vacant after a quota, would be filled based on merit. But the Public Administration Ministry said that those seats would be filled by another quota. We object it severely,” said Ujjal.
The Prime Minister categorically said that existing quota system will stay as the nation’s gratitude to freedom fighters in the liberation war.
The five-point demand of the demonstrators include reducing quotas in government jobs, recruitment of jobseekers to vacant posts on the basis of merit, stopping of special recruitment tests for quota candidates and ensuring an unified age limit for jobseekers.
