A group of job seekers on Saturday gathered at the Shahbagh intersection in Dhaka, demanding to increase the age limit for entry into government jobs to 35 from the existing 30.
The demonstrators, over 500 students from different colleges and universities, under the banner of “Bangladesh Sadharan Chhatra Parishad” staged protests blocking the key Shahbagh intersection from 12:30pm disrupting traffic movement.
Sanjay Das, convener of the platform, announced the continuation of the blockade throughout the night, saying that their demand for lifting the age bar is logical as students generally finish university education at the age of 28 and hardly get two or three years to get a government job.
The age limit should be extended to 35 years from the existing 30 before the 40th Bangladesh Civil Service exam.
Transport movement through the Shahbagh-Paltan, Farmgate and New Market areas came to standstill following the demonstrations.
The agitating students threatened to continue the blockade and would go for tougher movements until their demand is met.
Harun Ur Rashid, joint convener of the platform, said: “The age limit must be increased as the government has already increased the retirement age for public servants from 57 years to 59 years.”
Golam Rabbani, general secretary of the Bangladesh Chhatra League central committee, joined the platform in the afternoon and assured the protesters that he would speak to the higher authorities in this regard.
At around 6pm on the day, the platform of freedom fighters’ descendants expressing solidarity with the Bangladesh Sadharan Chhatra Parishad on the extended age limit demands, held a sit-in program marking their eighth founding anniversary. Theydemanded the reinstatement of 30% freedom fighter quota in government jobs.