Curfew eased after deadly protests in Bangladesh took over 170 lives

Rush-hour traffic returned to the streets of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh after the government announced the end of curfew after four days of nationwide shutdown following deadly protests that took over 174 lives.

The city witnessed calm on Wednesday following protests led by the university student against quotas in government jobs.

The students are against the quota system that had reserved up to 30pc of government jobs for family members of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 war of interdependence against Pakistan. The protesters asked for the abolish of this system and asked for a merit-based system instead.

However, the number of arrests in days of violence passed the 2,500 mark and also policemen were among the casualties.

The country has mostly been calm after the Supreme Court scaled down reservations for various categories to 7pc. The court also overruled the high court verdict reinstating a 56pc quota in government jobs.

Meanwhile, telecommunication services were partially restored on Wednesday, but still social media remained suspended and internet connection was slow.

Offices reopened and people seen out in the streets

After easing the curfew imposed since last week, the residents of the capital city took to the streets as they made their way to their offices, and the offices announced to be open from till 03:00 PM local time.

Student protesters in Dhaka take to the streets.

The residents used public buses and kids were playing in some places, in sharp contrast to  the violence clashes in the city which took many lives.

But it doesn’t mean that all is well as the protesting students have given the government a fresh 48-hour ultimatum to fulfill four other conditions of an eight-point list of demands.

The protesters said that they will announce next steps once that ends on Thursday.

“We want the government to meet our four-point demand, including restoration of the internet, withdrawal of police from campuses, and opening universities (which have been closed for a week),” protest coordinator Nahid Islam told a news agency.

32 million people are out of work or education in Bangladesh 

Bangladesh, the South Asian country with a population of 170 million, has been rocked by protests since the announcement of the high court verdict last month which left less than half of the state jobs on merit, causing outrage among the younger people who are seeking jobs.

The annoying reality is that about 32 million young people are out of work or education in the country and the demonstration has been intensified after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina refused to meet the protesor’s demands.

Things got worse when Hasina called the protesters, almost all of them students, razakar, a term used for those who collaborated with the Pakistani army during the war.

Moreover, Hasina blamed her political opponent for the violence and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party has denied any role in the protest.

Meanwhile, regional countries have evacuated their citizens from the country over the last few days.