Anti-quota movement empties Dhaka roads

City Desk :

Over the past week, protests demanding quota reform have intensified across the country, with a significant focus on Dhaka. On Sunday, the “Bangla Blockade” caused severe traffic jams, bringing the capital to a near standstill and causing significant inconvenience for thousands of commuters. In line with their pre-announcement, the quota reform activists have scheduled another “Bangla Blockade” program for Monday at major road intersections in Dhaka and other parts of the country.

Due to the impact of Sunday’s traffic jams and inconvenience, the capital has been relatively empty since the morning.

Most people have avoided going out to evade any trouble, and there are fewer vehicles on the road, with public transportation also being scarce.

A tour of several roads, including Shahbagh, Bangla Motor, Farmgate, Mohakhali, Kalabagan, Mirpur Road, Mirpur, Agargaon, and Moghbazar, reveals that the city’s streets are as empty as on a holiday.

Some drivers and city residents mentioned that the roadblocks by quota reform activists on Sunday caused traffic jams throughout the day in the capital.

People from various walks of life, including children, women, and the elderly, faced severe inconvenience.
As a result, people are not going out unless absolutely necessary. Those who are out are using rickshaws instead of their personal cars.

At the Bangla Motor intersection, Chowdhury Hossain, an employee of a private company, said: “My office is at Bangla Motor. Yesterday (Sunday), it took me almost three hours to get home to Mohammadpur. So today (Monday), I came to the office without my car.”