Shahbagh blockaded seeking city polls deferment

Students of Dhaka University have blocked the Shahbagh intersection in the city demanding deferment of the polls to the two Dhaka city corporations slated for January 30.

The blockade began around 5pm on Tuesday after the High Court turned down a writ petition seeking its directive to defer the elections.

The court passed the order considering the progress in the election process and the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations scheduled to take place on February 2.

On January 6, Supreme Court lawyer Ashoke Kumar Ghosh filed the writ petition requesting the court to order the EC to defer the election date and hold the polls in the first week of February.

Ghosh, in the petition, said that Saraswati Puja, one of the major religious festivals of the Hindu community, will be held at almost all academic institutions across the country on January 29 and January 30.

He explained that polling centres will be set up at the institutions for holding the election and for this, observance of the puja will be hampered.

On December 22, 2019, the Election Commission announced that the elections to the Dhaka south and north city corporations will be held on January 30.