Second Day of Student-Citizen Protest at Shahbagh; Traffic Remains Suspended
For the second consecutive day, students and citizens have continued their protest at Shahbagh demanding, among other points, a ban on the Awami League. Due to the ongoing sit-in, vehicular movement through the Shahbagh intersection has been suspended since Saturday (May 10) morning.
Eyewitnesses reported that protesters gathered again at Shahbagh, chanting slogans like “Ban Ban, Awami League Ban” and “Abu Sayeed Mugdha, the struggle isn’t over yet.” While the crowd appeared smaller than the previous day, several hundred students and activists remained in place. Some even spent the night sleeping on the streets, although many participants had already left the area by morning.
Road Closures
As part of the sit-in program, all four directions leading to Shahbagh have been closed to traffic since the morning. However, emergency vehicles, including ambulances, are being allowed to pass without hindrance.
The protest began Friday (May 9) at 4:45 PM, when demonstrators arrived at Shahbagh following a rally led from near the InterContinental Hotel intersection. At the earlier rally, Hasnat Abdullah, Chief Organizer for the southern region of the National Citizens’ Party (NCP), announced the continuation of the movement until the Awami League is officially banned. After his declaration, protesters marched to Shahbagh and began occupying the intersection overnight.
At around 11 PM on Friday, Hasnat Abdullah announced the next steps, stating that a mass gathering would be held at Shahbagh at 3 PM on Saturday (May 10) in support of the demand to ban the Awami League, and that the ongoing sit-in would also continue.
This movement began Thursday night (May 8) at 10 PM with the same demand. Responding to Hasnat Abdullah’s call, leaders and activists from various political parties and organizations joined the protest. Around 1 AM, NCP convener Nahid Islam and member secretary Akhtar Hossain led a procession toward the Jamuna area, accompanied by other central leaders of the party.
