Dhaka’s bus services with rest of the country suspended

Bus services between Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh were suspended Thursday due to a ‘complete shutdown’ called by student protesters demanding quota reform. Bus owners instructed staff not to operate vehicles. Clashes erupted between police and protesters in Dhaka, with authorities using teargas and rubber bullets. The capital’s usually busy streets were largely empty, with only a few BRTC buses running. The shutdown came despite Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s televised appeal for patience until the Supreme Court’s verdict on the quota issue. BD Pratidin