Polytechnic students block Satrasta intersection, bring traffic to a standstill

Students from public and private technical institutes, including Dhaka Polytechnic Institute, have blocked the Satrasta intersection in the capital’s Tejgaon area, paralysing traffic in the area.

The students started their demonstrations around 11:15 am on Wednesday setting up a road blockade to press home their four demands.

The closure of the Satrasta intersection halted vehicular movement, producing severe congestion on surrounding roads and causing significant disruption and hardship for commuters.

The four demands are: that those who publicly threatened to kill diploma engineers, as raised by the Engineering Rights Movement, be punished to the fullest extent of the law; that all state-enabled activities conducted in support of the BSc engineering students’ three unreasonable demands be halted immediately; that the Technical Students’ Movement’s six-point demand framework and its recommendations be implemented in full; the introduction of a single-channel engineering education system.

Protester Nafiz Al-Rushd said the students had previously campaigned on six demands, which the government accepted in principle but has yet to implement.

“Those measures must now be put into effect,” he added.

He accused certain BSc engineering students of pressing three unreasonable demands that also need to be resolved.

“We will not clear the road until our demands are met,” he warned.