Bangladesh resumes mobile internet after 10-day blackout over protests

By SM Najmus Sakib and Faisal Mahmud

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – Bangladesh restored mobile internet services on Sunday afternoon, after 10 days of blackout due to violence triggered by student protests over government job quotas.

Junior Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak said the services would resume at 3 p.m. local time (0900 GMT).

He said that since customers were not able to use the packages they had paid for, users will get a 5 GB data bonus for three days.

The government had shut mobile internet on July 17 and broadband service on July 18 amid escalating violence during the protests. Broadband internet resumed on July 23, and a curfew imposed to handle the law and order situation has started to relax.

More than 200 people have been killed since July 16, according to independent estimates as the government has not yet released an official count. Schools and other educational institutions remain closed.

Clashes started on July 15 between the police and student protesters demanding an end to a quota that reserved 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in the 1971 war of independence.

In the wake of the chaos, the Supreme Court ordered the government to scale back job quotas. The 30% quota for veterans’ descendants was cut to 5%, and quota for ethnic minorities, transgender people and disabled people was limited to 2%.

- Extensive raids

Amid escalating protests, clashes, and acts of vandalism related to the quota reform movement, law enforcement agencies across Bangladesh have launched a series of extensive raids, causing widespread apprehension among the population.

In Dhaka, law enforcers have adopted a strategic approach, dividing the city into designated zones for targeted operations.

Sources involved in the raids have told Anadolu that the tactic involves encircling a targeted area with hundreds of law enforcement personnel, effectively sealing all exits to prevent any suspects from escaping.

The operation, referred to as a "block raid," involves the systematic search of homes based on intelligence information to apprehend individuals suspected of involvement in the unrest.