The city witnessed severe traffic gridlocks on different roads on Monday as students under the banner of 'Technical Student Movement' blocked the road in Satrasta area at Tejgaon in the capital to realise their six-point demands. The photo was taken from in front of the BFDC near Hatirjheel area. — FE Photo by Asad-Uz-Zaman
Commuters experienced severe traffic gridlock as students of the polytechnic institutes, under the banner of the Technical Students Movement, blocked the crossroads at Satrasta in the Tejgaon Industrial Area of the capital on Monday to press home their six-point demand.
The students took to the streets at around 12.00pm causing severe traffic congestion in neighbouring areas including Hatirjheel, Karwan Bazar, Moghbazar, Eskaton, Farmgate and Mohakhali.
Their demands include ensuring that the Diploma in Engineering course remains a four-year programme and that each semester (term) is of full six-month duration.
Due to the road blockade for several hours, commuters were seen walking a long distance to reach their respective destinations while many awaited for hours amid hot and humid weather.
People from different walks of life especially elderly ones, women and children had to suffer the most.
An entrepreneur named Javed Hossain who was carrying merchandise from Banani to Malibagh got stuck at Nabisco at around 3.00pm.
"I'm puzzled with such nagging traffic congestion amid high temperature," he said, adding that he would have left the bus, had there been no heavy luggage with him.
Like him, many commuters were in a fix as they primarily didn't understand what actually happened.
Usually such kind of movement takes place at Shahbag and Paltan.
Officer-in-charge (OC) of Tejgaon Industrial Area Police Station Gazi Shamimur Rahman told the newsmen that they were trying to persuade the students to withdraw the blockade programme.
Students of different polytechnic institutions including Dhaka Polytechnic joined the programme.
Their other demands include transfer of all craft instructors, who were recruited through a controversial procedure in 2021, from the Directorate of Technical Education and all other organisations.
None other than diploma engineers can apply for the post of Sub-Assistant Engineer (10th Grade) and the post of Sub-Assistant Engineer and equivalent posts shall be reserved for diploma engineers.
Administration of technical sector cannot have any human resource without technical education.
The controversial recruitment rules of the Directorate of Technical Education should be amended.
The demonstrators also called for widening the scopes of higher education for diploma engineering students.
They continued agitation showing placards and shouting slogans in favour of the demands. Later they partially lifted blockade on the one side of the road.
They withdrew the full blockade after Technical and Madrasah Education Division Secretary Dr Farid Uddin Ahmed assured them of meeting all their demands at around 6.0pm.
Information available on Google map revealed that many areas of Dhaka city were witnessing unusual traffic congestion while filing this report at 8.0 pm.
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