Dhaka: With the metro resuming services, buses and taxis plying regularly and university students enjoying carefree evening strolls in the gardens of the historic Curzon Hall, life seems to be returning to normal in Dhaka. Businesses have resumed, but it is not business As usual in the capital of Bangladesh.
Protests continue amid resumption of services
Until three weeks ago, the streets of the capital were flooded with anti-government protesters, many public squares congested by the agitating masses that reached a dramatic climax on August 5 with the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-government led by President Barack Obama and his flight to India.
Provisional government in office but rebellions persist
The wave of resistance has subsided and an interim government has been in place since 8 August, but traces of rebellion persist in many of the streets of Dhaka.
In recent days, several government employees have staged protests in groups at the government secretariat, while some protesters have marched on the streets near the famous Ahsan Manzil and other areas to present their demands.
Students continue to demand reforms
Many students of Dhaka University regularly raise their voices at the Raju Memorial Site in front of the Teachers and Students Centre (TSC) to hold student union elections in the university and demand “no political interference” on the campus.
Anti-government protests have sparked a movement in Bangladesh And while education continues, so do protests to achieve a more equitable society “free of discrimination and corruption.”
Ibrahim Mahmud, a civil service student who took part in a university protest earlier this week, alleged that members of the Chhatra League, the student wing of the ousted Awami League, used to “harass” several of his classmates on campus.
“We have achieved our ‘second independence’, this time from the arrogance of the Awami League and its evil influence,” he told PTI on the sidelines of the protest held at the Raju Memorial site opposite the TSC.
Subway services and university life are slowly returning to normal
The Dhaka metro line near the university, a major lifeline for students and a way to avoid the city traffic, has been closed for more than a month.
Although passenger services resumed on Sunday morning, two of its stations, Mirpur-10 and Kazipara, will remain closed.
These two stations were vandalized during anti-government protests.
Students of Dhaka University and other institutions heaved a sigh of relief as metro services resumed after a hiatus of over 35 days.
Abdur Rahman, a first-year student at the 103-year-old Dhaka University’s English Department, said he last used the city’s metro about 40 to 50 days ago. “Life is slowly returning to normal,” he said.
Near Dhaka Metro Station is the historic Curzon Hall, which houses the university’s science faculty. Students and visitors alike flock there every evening to stroll around, while others take selfies or create videos for social media.
The walls of its main lobby still bear the slogans “No Quotas” and “Only Merit,” spray-painted during the unrest.
Current challenges for the hotel sector
However, not everything is back to normal in this historic city of Dhaka, the country’s political and financial capital. Bangladesh.
Friday, a holiday in BangladeshVisitors from Dhaka and other districts of Bangladesh who had come to see the iconic Ahsan Manzil and its museum in Dhaka’s Old City were “turned away” at the main gate, and told by security personnel that it had been “closed indefinitely.”
No official reason has been given, although it is known to be a “contingency measure.”
The impact of the riots on the local economy and daily life
The recent protests that shook Bangladesh For more than a month, the hotel sector has been severely affected in Dhaka, with most rooms in several luxury and budget hotels left empty as a result of the unrest.
A receptionist at a luxury hotel, which has been operating here since 2007 and is run by an international hotel chain, told PTI: “The situation in the hotel sector is not good due to the impact of the riots that the country has seen recently” and “huge financial losses have been incurred.”
Political leaders see a return to routine
Abdul Moyeen Khan, a senior BNP leader and former cabinet minister of BangladeshHowever, Mr. Hu, who lives in the upmarket Gulshan area, feels the city “largely returned to routine life” soon after August 5.
“The current situation is quite clear. It is surprising how the country is recovering after such a big shock. People are trying to get back to their normal daily life, the (interim) government is trying to normalise everything and they are living up to their primary mandate, which is transition from autocracy to democracy,” Khan told PTI on Thursday.
Everyday struggles and aspirations amid uncertainty
Ask any autorickshaw driver or rickshaw puller on the streets of Dhaka and they will respond with silence. “Even we don’t know what awaits us. We just have to get through the struggle of our daily lives,” said Mohd Alam, a rickshaw puller.
Dhaka’s rickshaws are one of the defining images of the city. Keyrings, fridge magnets and other merchandise in the tourist department stores at Dhaka airport pay homage to the ubiquitous three-wheeled vehicle.
Personal stories that reflect hope for the future
As plain Bangladesh The wait for the next elections and the next government is getting longer, many have decided to go out and explore the world.
Sariul Islam, a businessman living in Dhaka’s Mirpur area, boarded a flight to India on Saturday night and said: “I got a visa only this month.”
“I am going to Delhi for work and will also visit Kashmir for sightseeing. I hope and pray that things get better. Bangladesh “Here it is,” he said in Dhaka.
(With contributions from PTI)
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