Demonstrations on some major streets brought Dhaka traffic to a grinding halt yesterday, forcing commuters, patients and children to walk for hours.
After daylong demonstrations blocking roads near Shyamoli, the injured victims of the July uprising, some with life-changing injuries, arrived on Minto Road around 7:45pm to go to the chief adviser’s residence.
They kept the road blocked and after midnight broke the barricades placed by law enforcers near the Intercontinental Hotel. They then tried to breach another barricade set up by the army near the state guest house Jamuna, the chief adviser’s residence on Hare Road.
The injured demand proper treatment, rehabilitation, and formal recognition of their sacrifice.
Law enforcers were trying to calm the situation when Anti-discrimination Student Movement leader Hasnat Abdullah went to the scene around 12:30am and talked to the demonstrators.
The protesters calmed down a bit, but vowed not to leave the spot until the chief adviser or a representative gave them an assurance in writing.
Around 1:45am, they began to leave Hare Road after Hasnat promised he would try to make sure some of their demands were met within a week.
Helal Hafiz, who was shot in the stomach in July, told The Daily Star they would not leave until they were promised better treatment and rehabilitation.
Meanwhile, Titumir students, who want the college upgraded to a university, blocked roads in Mohakhali for the fourth day.
Around 11 last night, Habibullah Rony, an organiser, told reporters that the college would be shuttered until the demand was met.
The students will keep Gulshan-Mohakhali road and railway lines in Mohakhali blocked from 11:00am to 10:00pm today, he announced.
In another scene of protest, Inqilab Mancha, an organisation of mostly students, blocked the Eidgah Road in front of Shikkha Bhaban, demanding that the home adviser resign over the “state forces’ failure” to stop the Awami League leaders and officials complicit in the July killings from leaving the country.
They tried to march to the Secretariat, but police stopped their procession near Shikkha Bhaban where they demonstrated for several hours in the afternoon.
On major streets, tailbacks stretched across the city.
“This is a nightmare for my two ailing daughters. One has an ear infection and another has a fever. My wife and I brought them to the hospital after walking for 40 minutes only to find that the outdoor services have closed,” Muhammad Rabbi told this correspondent at the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital.
He and his wife had to walk, carrying their toddlers for over a kilometre. As garment workers, they cannot afford to take the girls to a private clinic.
Mizanur Rahman, 55, was also stranded outside the National Institute of Ophthalmology with his 18-year-old daughter.
“We missed her doctor’s appointment. We were stuck near Kalyanpur for over an hour. There are 10 major hospitals in the area where thousands of patients visit. At least one side of the road should have been left open,” he said.
Traffic gridlock was also seen in Mohakhali, Banani, and Gulshan as students of Titumir College roads.
Some students have been fasting unto death for 98 hours as of 7:00pm.
Iman Ali had to leave his Mymensingh-bound Alam Asia bus after it was stuck for more than half an hour due to the blockade.
On top of it all, the first phase of Bishwa Ijtema wrapped up after half past nine in the morning in Tongi. This meant thousands of the devotees began returning to their hometowns, with many needing to travel across the city.
PROTESTS BY THE INJURED
Around 11:00am, they gathered in the Agargaon area’s Revenue Building, TB Hospital, the National Institute of Ophthalmology, and the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation.
Some had been protesting since Saturday night.
No vehicles were allowed to pass except ambulances, causing severe traffic congestion.
At 3:00pm, the protesters blocked Shishu Mela intersection on Mirpur Road.
Kamrul Hasan, injured in the July mass uprising and treated at CRP in Savar, held a festoon reading: “Either state recognition or death by suicide!
“If we are not recognised, I will voluntarily die, and the state will be responsible for my death. We took bullets for this country, but the state refuses to acknowledge our sacrifices,” he said.
“People like us have been sleeping on the streets. I haven’t eaten anything for two days except water. Meanwhile, those in power have forgotten us, busy doing politics while we suffer.”
