Students from Dhaka Polytechnic Institute and other government and private technical institutions blocked the Satarasta intersection in Tejgaon, Dhaka, today, causing severe traffic congestion and disruption.
The road blockade began around 12:00 PM on Tuesday, halting all vehicular movement in the area. Commuters and drivers faced significant delays and inconvenience.
The students said they staged the protest against a recommendation to allow both diploma and BSc engineering graduates to apply for the tenth-grade Assistant Engineer posts. They demanded the government withdraw this recommendation.
Arif Billah, a member of the Technical Student Movement, stated that while diploma engineers are eligible to apply for Assistant Engineer positions, the current government’s recommendation to include BSc engineers for the same post has sparked their protest. He warned that failure to revoke the recommendation would lead to a stronger movement.
Commuters were forced to walk to their destinations due to the traffic disruption.
Tania Sultana, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of Tejgaon Traffic, Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told Prothom Alo around 2:00 PM that the blockade has affected surrounding roads, causing severe jams, particularly from Satarasta to Kakrail. Vehicles could not pass through the connecting road in front of Sonargaon, impacting nearby streets as well. Traffic coming from the Mohakhali direction is being diverted.
