Staff Reporter:
A section of Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinees staged demonstrations and blocked roads in parts of the capital yesterday, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dr. A N M Ehsanul Haque Milon over the continuation of examinations amid adverse weather and alleged errors in question papers.
The protesters began demonstrations around 11:30am at Science Laboratory intersection and almost sim-ultaneously in Uttara, causing major disruptions to traffic and suffering for commuters.
Earlier, a group of examinees announced blockades at several locations including Science Laboratory intersection, Shahbagh, Uttara and Mirpur through a social media platform named “Shikkharthi Oikya” (Student Unity), demanding the minister’s resignation.
At Science Laboratory intersection, the blockade halted vehicular movement on roads connecting Shahbagh, Mohammadpur and Mirpur.
In Uttara, students from different colleges took position on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in front of the BNS building, bringing traffic to a standstill.
Airport Zone Assistant Commissioner of Traffic (Uttara Division) HM Hasibur Rahman said some stu-dents blocked the road in front of the BNS building and no vehicles were able to move.
“At this moment, they have blocked Dhaka-Mymensingh highway. Vehicles on both sides are stranded. We requested them to clear the road after speaking with them, but they are not listening,” he said.
The sudden blockade brought much of Uttara to a halt with outbound international travellers facing par-ticular difficulties. Police were also deployed at the scene.
Protesters at Science Laboratory said they have three key demands: the resignation of the Education Minister, suspension of examinations until adverse weather condition improves, and an explanation over alleged errors in question papers.
The students said that they were being forced to travel to examination centres through floodwaters, storms and heavy rainfall.
They said large parts of Chattogram Division remained inundated, while flooding also begun affecting areas in Cumilla, Kurigram and Lalmonirhat and questioned why the examinations have not been sus-pended despite the situation.
