Mobile internet services were restored in Bangladesh on Sunday after an 11-day internet shutdown following days of student protests over government job quotas.
The country’s 4G mobile internet services were resumed on Sunday following a meeting with internet service providers and other leaders, Minister of State for Communications and Information and Communications Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak said. Announcement on social media.
Palak said internet providers had “suffered financial losses” and leaders decided to give a “5G internet bonus” to all internet users for the next three days.
The South Asian country has been hit by unrest and violence as student protesters demand the abolition of a quota system that gives 30 percent of government jobs to relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence, the Associated Press reported. The students argue the system is discriminatory and launched peaceful protests after a high court last month reinstated the system, which had been scrapped in 2018. Al Jazeera reported..
Protesters have clashed with police, with around 200 deaths reported as of last Thursday, the news agency added.
An internet shutdown imposed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government on July 17 has made it more difficult for demonstrators to communicate with each other, a key protest organizer told The Associated Press.
The government also imposed a night-time curfew, including a shoot on sight order, but this was later relaxed to 10 am to 5 pm, and offices and banks also reopened last week with limited opening hours, the news agency reported.
The government has promised that student protesters will not face legal action, According to media reports About 2,700 people were arrested across the country.
The Associated Press contributed.
