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Students demanding job quota reform in public recruitment continued their demonstrations across the country on Friday.
In Dhaka, students blocked Shahbagh intersection on Friday afternoon, a weekend holiday, as heavy rain and waterlogging drenched the city. During the hour-long blockade, they protested a police attack on the movement on Thursday.
Before leaving Shahbagh, the protesters said they would hold online and offline coordination meetings with representatives today (Saturday). They would announce the next course of action at 6 pm that day.
Earlier, students from different educational institutions, including different halls of Dhaka University, gathered in front of the central library at 4.30pm. The agitating students then marched to Shahbagh.
As a result, traffic in the area was halted for around an hour.
Abu Bakar Majumder, a coordinator of the 'Anti-discrimination Student Movement', said, "Our peaceful movement was attacked by the police in different parts of the country on Thursday. We strongly condemn the attacks on journalists and students. The administration has attacked journalists to question our movement."
Mohammad Mahin Sarkar, another coordinator, said, "They [the authorities] are playing with our
emotions. We want to tell the prime minister that they have to understand our emotions, they have to listen to our demands. If the law is not passed in Parliament, we will not leave the streets."
During the protest at Shahbagh, students chanted slogans such as "Quota or merit? Merit, merit!", "Inform the whole of Bengal, bury the quota system!" and "Why attack, administration answer!".
Hasnat Abdullah, another movement coordinator, said, "We have gathered to protest the attacks on protesters across the country demanding quota reform. We will continue the systematic programme."
The Financial Express Jahangirnagar University correspondent reports that Jahangirnagar students also continued their protests. The students held a torch procession and protest rally at 7.45 pm against attacks on their activists.
Several hundred students gathered in front of the university's central Shaheed Minar at 7 pm before the torch procession, which passed various campus landmarks.
Several nearby educational institutions joined the torch procession. Participants included students from City University, Dhamrai Government College, Gono Bishwabidyalay and Morning Glory School and College.
The students demanded swift identification and legal action against those responsible for Thursday's attacks on students nationwide.
Arif Sohel, convener of the JU wing of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, said, "Students at Cumilla University and Chittagong University were attacked on Thursday during a peaceful event. We have organised this torch procession to condemn this outrageous incident."
Nasim, a Chemistry student from Gono Bishwabidyalay, told the FE, "The High Court's judgment states that the government can increase or decrease the quota in public services. We too seek a logical reform of the quota system."
In Chattogram, students from Chittagong University (CU) and various private universities and colleges walked in march across the port city to protest police attacks on anti-quota students at different universities.
The demonstration, demanding justice, drew around 5,000 participants.
The protest began at 5 pm at Sholshahar station, with students rallying before marching through the port city.
The demonstrators passed through key areas including Chowk Bazar, Prabartak Mor, and gate number two, heading towards GEC via Chittagong College, Jamal Khan and the Wasa intersection.
Waheed Hasan, a protesting CU student, said, "Students are protesting on the streets with logical demands, so why should law and order forces attack them? Who gave them this right?"