Broadband internet restored, offices, industries reopen in Bangladesh

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Broadband internet with limited bandwidth was restored as offices and industries reopened in Bangladesh on Wednesday.

The authorities, however, continued curfew restrictions amid military deployment, and mobile internet remains banned.

The government snapped mobile and broadband internet last week on Thursday amid violent protests against the 56% quota in public jobs.

Along with military deployment, the government had imposed a curfew on Friday night with intermittent relaxation.

Authorities relaxed restrictions between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Wednesday to run offices in the capital Dhaka and other cities.

Limited vehicles were seen operating on the streets of Dhaka.

At least 197 people have been killed and thousands of others injured since last week, according to the national daily Protho Alo.

According to the Dhaka Medical Hospital, over 1,070 people took treatment at the hospital alone.

Among the casualties are those with eye injuries.

At least 394 students were admitted to the National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital, a specialized eye hospital in Dhaka.

Of them, 256 needed surgeries. “100 of them feared losing eyesight,” according to a report by the daily New Age.

Meanwhile, the government continued a crackdown against the opposition parties, mainly the Bangladesh Nationalist party and Jamaat-e-Islami for allegedly igniting the protest.

As many as 3,000 opposition members were arrested in the last few days, according to local media.

The government has implemented the top court order to reduce the quota in public jobs to 7%, including 5% for the progeny of 1971 war veterans.