Traffic gridlock in Dhaka as students of 7 colleges block roads 

Students of seven colleges affiliated with Dhaka University have taken to the streets in the capital, blocking multiple points across the city, including the busy Science Laboratory intersection. 

They have been demanding that the authorities disaffiliate the colleges from Dhaka University and establish a separate university for them. They held similar protests on Tuesday and declared its continuation.

On Wednesday, the protests began around 12:15 pm and continued until the filing of this report around 3:00 pm. Their blockade caused severe traffic gridlock on the roads adjacent to the Science Laboratory area, and it later spread across the city. 

Being stuck at different points for extended periods, a large number of commuters were seen leaving their vehicles and walking to their destinations. 

Around 2:00pm, it took more than one hour for a Prothom Alo reporter to travel from Moghbazar to Karwan Bazar on a rickshaw. According to him, vehicles were completely stuck near the railway gate at Karwan Bazar. Commuters were leaving their vehicles and moving to their destinations on foot. 

Apart from the Science Lab area, students also blocked the road adjacent to the Titumir College in the capital’s Mohakhali area.

Khandker Nazmul Hasan, additional commissioner (traffic) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said the city roads are interlinked like nerves. If roads are closed anywhere, it affects the entire city. Today has been no different.

Traffic congestion was relatively severe in the Science Lab, Shahbag, Karwan Bazar, and Mohakhali areas.  

Meanwhile, another group of students gathered at Shahbag, demanding an increase in the recruitment age limit to 35. When they marched towards Shiksha Bhaban, the police dispersed them, using water cannons. 

Khandker Nazmul Hasan said they were trying to mitigate the traffic congestion through alternative routes.