2024-07-20 01:41:39
On Thursday (July 18), some areas including New Market, Elephant Road, Shahbagh, Dhaka Medical, Azimpur, Neelkhet were visited on the ground. Most of the shops in various markets did not open till 1 pm. The shop owners and employees came on time in the morning but they did not dare to open their shops due to the ‘complete shutdown’ of the ongoing agitation.
In this context, the businessmen said that they are not getting the courage to open their shops due to the students’ movement and the rate at which student-police clashes are taking place. So without opening the shop today at least they want to understand the situation.
Some movement of people was seen in these areas but no public transport and no private vehicles were seen. However, the presence of rickshaws has been noticed, albeit little.
Although the situation in the DU campus was calm, police were seen on alert at Palashi intersection. Hundreds of school-college students were seen at Azimpur intersection, who gathered there and chanted slogans against the quota reform movement. Among the protesting students who gathered at Azimpur intersection were students of Udayan, Ulab, Green University, Noor Mohammad, Vikarunnessa (Ajimpur) and Azimpur Girls. During this time, the agitating students attacked and vandalized a pickup truck.
Several BJB vehicles and armored vehicles were seen on the road in Elephant Road (Opposite Coffee House) area on high alert. 10-15 people with sticks were seen under the Sciencelab foot over bridge (crossroads). However, these are not agitating students. Looking at their age and attire, they did not seem like students. When asked to know their identity, no one agreed to speak.