HSC candidates block road in front of Parliament Building again, bus vandalized

Nearly an hour after being dispersed by a police baton-charge (lathi charge) in front of the National Parliament Building in the capital, HSC candidates gathered once again to blockade Manik Mia Avenue.

A passenger bus was also vandalized during the protest on Tuesday (July 14) night. The examinees took position in front of the main gate of the Parliament Building and began demonstrating around 8pm. This brought traffic to a complete standstill on both sides of Manik Mia Avenue, causing severe traffic congestion. At one point, frustrated commuters bound for Farmgate cleared the barricades themselves, allowing a few buses to move forward.

At this, the protesters blocked the path of the buses. Around 8:40pm, the front and side windshields of a passenger bus were smashed. However, no passengers were injured in the incident. The protesting students denied any involvement in the attack on the bus, claiming that outsiders carried out the vandalism in a planned manner to make their movement controversial.

Mirajul Islam, a student of Dhaka City College, said, "We caught one of those who did the vandalizing and handed him over to the police."

On the other hand, general passengers expressed anger over the attack on the bus. Anwar Miah, a passenger on the bus, said, "We support the logical and peaceful movement of the students. But attacking a passenger bus is by no means acceptable."

Since Tuesday morning, examinees had been protesting in various parts of the capital against holding the HSC exams amid adverse weather conditions, errors in the Physics First Paper question paper, and an excessively difficult unified question paper. At the same time, they demanded the resignation of Education Minister A.N.M. Ehsanul Hoque Milon.

The program began in the morning with a blockade of the Science Lab intersection. Later, the protesters demonstrated at the Dhaka University VC Chattar and in front of the Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board. In the afternoon, after blocking the Science Lab intersection once again, they gathered in front of the National Parliament Building in the evening.

At one stage, when some students attempted to enter the premises of the Parliament Building, police dispersed them with a baton-charge. However, after a short while, they gathered again in front of the Parliament Building to resume their blockade.