Engineering students block Shahbagh with 3-point demand

Students of various engineering institutes, including the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), have blocked the Shahbagh intersection to press home their 3-point demand, including not allowing the diploma engineers to use the word engineer before their name.

Several hundred engineering students block the Shahbagh intersection around 3:00 pm Tuesday.

According to eye witnesses and police sources, students of different engineering institutions brought out processions and blocked the Shahbagh intersection around 3:00 pm. They were chanting various slogans to realise their demands.

Shahbagh police station officer-in-charge (OC) Khalid Monsur said the blockade led to severe traffic congestion on adjacent roads.

Among the students’ other demands are that no diploma engineers be promoted to the ninth grade and that graduate engineers be given opportunities for entry into 10th-grade jobs.

Abrar Faiyaz, a BUET student taking part in the blockade, told Prothom Alo, “We were continuing our movement with three demands. But last night in Rangpur, a graduate engineer was confined and threatened in various ways. Although a case has been filed with the police station over the incident, the perpetrators have not been arrested. We will continue our movement until our three demands are realised and those who threatened the graduate engineers are arrested.”