Students End Today’s Protest, Resume Traffic After Four Hours

Students from seven major colleges in Dhaka have called off their protest for Thursday, which demanded the issuance of the Dhaka Central University Ordinance. The sit-in, which lasted just over four hours, concluded around 5:15 pm at Science Lab Mor, after which traffic on Mirpur Road and nearby streets returned to normal. The students, however, warned that if the government does not issue the ordinance by Sunday, they will resume the blockade at Science Lab Mor on Monday.

The announcement to end today’s protest was made by Naeem Howlader, a student leader, who also outlined their next steps. He said that if the ordinance is not released by Sunday, students will set up a platform at Science Lab Mor on Monday to demand it and will announce further actions from that stage.

The demonstration began around 12:30 pm, when students from Dhaka College led a march that reached Science Lab Mor by 12:40 pm, where they blocked the roads. The blockade caused heavy traffic congestion on Mirpur Road, forcing many commuters to leave their vehicles and walk to their destinations.

The protest involved students from Dhaka College, Eden Mohila College, Begum Badrunnesa Government Women’s College, Shaheed Suhrawardy College, Kabi Nazrul Government College, Government Bangla College, and Titumir College.

During the sit-in, the students chanted slogans such as “We want, we want ordinance, ordinance,” “Your time is over, state, issue the ordinance,” and “Who am I, who are you, DCU, DCU.”

The road blockade caused severe disruption, creating significant traffic jams and difficulties for thousands of commuters, many of whom had to continue on foot due to the congestion.