Thousands of students in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country on Thursday continued their street protests by blocking the capital’s Shahbagh intersection and major highways including Dhaka-Aricha, Dhaka-Chattogram, Chattogram–Khagrachari, Dhaka-Barishal and Dhaka-Rajshahi, demanding cancellation of the High Court order for restoring a 30 per cent quota for freedom fighters’ children and grandchildren in government jobs.

Dhaka University students, meanwhile, alleged that ruling Awami League-backed student organisation Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders and activists barred students at different halls of residence from joining the protests.

The day’s protests intensified following the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the morning refused to stay the High Court verdict that asked the government on June 5 to restore the 30 per cent quota for the children and grandchildren of freedom fighters while recruiting cadre and non-cadre officers in the civil service.

DU students brought out a procession from in front of the university’s central library at about 11:00am and after marching around all halls of residence of the university, Teacher-Student Centre, Raju Memorial Sculpture ended at Shahbagh Intersection at about 12 noon.

Then the students blocked the intersection from 12 noon to 6:10pm for the third consecutive day defying rain.

The six-hour long blockade at the capital’s major intersection caused severe traffic congestion in and around Banglamotor, Karwan Bazar, Kataban, Elephant Road, Hatirpool, Nilkhet, Segun Bagicha and Press Club areas and people and vehicles, including ambulances carrying dying patients, suffered immensely,.

Nahid Islam, coordinator of the Students Movement against Discrimination, an anti-quota movement platform, announced a fresh three-day programme till Sunday, including the online and in-person programme on Friday.

‘We urge all students to bring out protest processions in all universities and colleges at 3:00pm across the country,’ Nahid said, urging all students to boycott all classes and exams on Sunday.

The protesting students’ four-point demand include cancelling the High Court order that restored the quota system, upholding the 2018 government circular, ensuring merit-based recruitment in the public service, giving appointment to qualified candidates from the merit list if any eligible candidates are not found in quotas for marginalised communities.

A large number of Dhaka University students tried to join the protests and they allegedly faced intimidation by the BCL leaders and activists.

At Surja Sen Hall, BCL leaders and activists closed the hall gate and stood there and the situation became tense when protesting students brought out processions to join the protests.

The agitating students opened the gate and came out of the hall to join the movement chanting slogans against the BCL activists terming them as ‘fake’.

Alongside Surja Sen Hall, the BCL leaders also took position at Bijoy Ekattor Hall’s gate to obstruct the agitating students.

The BCL reportedly created obstruction in several other halls, including Kabi Jasim Uddin Hall, AF Rahman Hall and Shahid Sergeant Zahurul Huq Hall.

Denying the allegations, BCL DU unit general secretary Tanbir Hasan Shaikat termed those as baseless and fabricated.

He said that the BCL did not obstruct anyone from joining the quota reform movement.

Several hundred students of Jahangirnagar University blocked the Dhaka-Aricha highway for about one hour for a fourth straight day on Thursday as the Appellate Division refused to issue a stay order on the HC verdict, New Age correspondent in JU reported.

About three kilometers of tailbacks were created on both lanes of the country’s one of the busiest highways due to the blockade from 12:15pm to 1:00pm on the day.

In Cumilla, a five-kilometre long tailback was created on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway as the students of Cumilla University put up barricades on the highway and many vehicles were seen stuck till 4:00pm on both sides of the highway.

In Barishal, vehicular movement on the Dhaka-Barishal highway remained suspended since this noon as Barishal University students put up barricades, United News of Bangladesh in Barishal reported.

Braving heavy rain in Rajshahi, several thousands of Rajshahi University students staged demonstrations and blocked the Rajshahi-Dhaka highway in front of the university main entrance gate for one hour and a half to press home their demands.

At around 10:40am, they took position on the Dhaka-Rajshahi highway in front of the university main entrance and blocked the highway till 12:10pm, said witnesses.

Students of Chittagong University blocked Chattogram–Khagrachari highway while Shahjalal University of Science and Technology held rallies and sit-ins in front of the main entrance of the university.

On October 4, 2018, the government issued a circular abolishing all the 56 per cent quotas in the public service in the wake of street protests by the public university students and jobseekers demanding reforms to the quota system introduced in 1972.

Until the abolition, about 56 per cent of government jobs were reserved for candidates from various quotas. Of them, 30 per cent were for freedom fighters’ children and grandchildren, 10 per cent for women, 10 per cent for people of underdeveloped districts, 5 per cent for ethnic communities and 1 per cent for physically challenged people.