DHAKA — As the curfew gradually eases in Bangladesh, the death toll from anti-job quota student protests has risen to 211, according to officials and local media reports. The increase follows the deaths of more protesters from bullet wounds in the capital, Dhaka.
The local English newspaper New Age reported that two more critically injured individuals died early Saturday while receiving treatment at the DMCH, raising the death toll to at least 211 nationwide.
Over 1,600 injured people have been treated at the hospital, the newspaper added.
Despite the easing of the curfew, which now includes a nine-hour break starting at 8:00 a.m., the government announced that the military curfew would continue for the eighth consecutive day on Saturday until the situation improves. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan stated late Friday night that law enforcement agencies are assessing the situation to determine when the curfew can be fully lifted.
While no untoward incidents were reported on Saturday, soldiers continued to patrol the capital. Offices and industries began reopening last Wednesday.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited several hospitals in Dhaka on Saturday to check on the injured and later inspected damaged government establishments attacked during the protests. She blamed miscreants and opposition parties for the violence, accusing them of attempting to cripple the economy and halt the country's development.
In the last 10 days, over 6,200 people have been arrested in connection with 555 cases, according to a report by Prothom Alo newspaper. Most of those arrested are members of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, and students.
The student protests demanding reforms to the government job quota system led the government to reduce the quota from 56% to 7%, including 5% for the progeny of war veterans, following a ruling by the country's top court last Sunday.
Junior Minister for Post, Telecommunication, and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak announced on Saturday that a decision to restore mobile internet services would be made after a meeting with mobile phone operators on Sunday. He expressed hope that the mobile 4G network would be restored by Sunday or Monday.
The minister previously stated that the internet was shut down on July 19 to curb disinformation during the protests. However, he later claimed that the government's data center was damaged during the protests, causing the internet outage.
Public Administration Minister Farhad Hossain announced on Saturday that offices would be open for six hours from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Sunday to Tuesday due to the ongoing situation. Last week, offices were open for two days (Wednesday and Thursday) for four hours each day. — Agencies
