A group of students gathered on the streets of Dhaka on Tuesday (August 6) to take over traffic control at a major intersection in the absence of traffic police, as parliament dissolved a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country following a violent crackdown on a student-led uprising.
“Everyone wants to be a part of this noble social work. I think that’s why all of us have come down to the road,” said 20-year-old student Mohammad Nur as he stood on the road and conducted traffic.
The announcement of dissolution by President Mohammed Shahabuddin’s office came after student protesters had threatened more demonstrations if parliament was not dissolved.
Nearly 300 people were killed in weeks of violence across the country that began last month after student groups demanded scrapping of a controversial quota system in government jobs. That escalated into a campaign to seek the ouster of Hasina, who won a fourth straight term in January in an election boycotted by the opposition.
