Dhaka Gridlocked as Engineering Students March
Image via ianslive.in
Dhaka, Aug 27 (TTP): Thousands of students from engineering universities, led by the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), blocked the busy Shahbagh intersection in Dhaka for a second consecutive day on Wednesday, pressing their three-point demand.
The standoff escalated as police used tear gas, sound grenades, and water cannons to disperse the crowds, after the protesters attempted to march towards Jamuna, the official residence of interim Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus.
According to Prothom Alo, Bangladesh’s leading Bengali daily, a scuffle broke out soon after the police intervention, forcing students to retreat to Shahbagh.
The March to Dhaka
The demonstration was part of the students’ previously announced “March to Dhaka” programme. Protesters began occupying Shahbagh’s main road in the morning, halting traffic in one of the capital’s busiest junctions.
Shahbagh Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge, Khalid Mansur, confirmed that the students brought out a procession before occupying the intersection. Vehicular movement remained suspended for several hours, causing severe traffic congestion and disrupting public life.
Protesters chanted slogans such as:
- “No tilling with goats, it will not happen.”
- “Merit, or quota, merit, merit.”
- “In my golden Bengal, there is no place for inequality.”
The slogans, students say, highlight their opposition to what they view as unfair treatment of graduate engineers compared to diploma engineers.
The Three-Point Demand
The students are demanding:
- Prohibition on diploma engineers using the title engineer before their name.
- No promotions of diploma engineers to the ninth grade of government service.
- Job entry rights for graduate engineers at the 10th grade level.
The protest leaders insist these steps are necessary to protect the professional standing of graduate engineers and maintain standards of technical expertise in Bangladesh’s infrastructure development.
Growing Movement of Student Solidarity
On Tuesday, students had already blocked Shahbagh for five hours. “Yesterday we presented three demands. But as the interim government did not meet them, we have taken stricter action today,” one of the protest leaders, Rizwan, told The Business Standard.
The movement is rapidly gaining traction. Students have appealed for nationwide solidarity, calling on peers from institutions across Bangladesh to converge on Shahbagh and amplify the demonstrations.
Government Under Pressure
Bangladesh has been rocked by waves of protest since Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus assumed charge as Chief Advisor of the interim government in August 2024.
While Yunus was initially welcomed as a figure of reform, his administration has faced growing criticism amid law-and-order challenges and rising student movements. The Shahbagh protests add a fresh layer of tension to an already unstable political climate.
Analysts warn that if the demands of the engineering students remain unmet, the protests could evolve into a larger nationwide agitation, adding to the list of challenges confronting the interim government.
Final Thoughts from TheTrendingPeople.com
The Shahbagh blockade underscores the power of Bangladesh’s student movements, which have historically shaped the country’s political landscape. With graduate engineers demanding professional recognition and fair employment structures, the current protests carry both social and economic implications.
As the standoff continues, the Yunus-led administration faces a critical test: whether to accommodate student voices through reform, or risk further instability by resisting their demands.
For now, Shahbagh stands as the symbolic ground zero of Bangladesh’s growing student unrest.