HSC examinees and protesting students have blocked roads in the capital’s Nilkhet, Sciencelab and surrounding areas as part of the announced ‘Long March to the Ministry of Education’ programme.
When they were on the road around noon on Wednesday (July 15th), traffic on the main roads including Nilkhet, Science Lab, Elephant Road, Azimpur was stopped and heavy traffic was created.
On the ground, students chanted slogans demanding the resignation of the education minister, taking position at the Nilkhet and Science Lab intersection. Due to their location, public transport, private vehicles and rickshaws were stopped. As a result, ordinary passengers have to use alternative routes.
Additional BGB and police personnel were deployed in Nilkhet and Science Lab areas since morning. However, as there were no gatherings till the end of the HSC and equivalent examinations, additional security forces withdrew from the spot after 1pm. After a while, the students suddenly came from different directions and blocked the road by taking position in Nilkhet, Science Lab and surrounding areas. This led to a stern shift in traffic and created a tense situation in the entire area.
Meanwhile, HSC and equivalent examinations were held in 59 districts of the country on Wednesday. After the examination, the protesting students announced to hold demonstrations in different parts of the country, including Dhaka.