At least 20 people were injured when police clashed with Ebtedayee madrasah teachers to prevent them from entering the Secretariat on Wednesday afternoon.
Police used sound grenades and water cannons to disperse the protesters as they attempted to break through barricades to reach the Secretariat, said Masud Alam, deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Ramna Division.
Most of the teachers had left the road in front of the Press Club, but a few were still sitting at the spot, he added.
Around 2:10pm, the teachers brought out their “hunger procession” demanding nationalization of all Ebtedayee madrasahs across the country. Ebtedayee Madrasah Shikhak Oikya Jote organised the protest.
The protest organisers said that the government announced the Ebtedayee madrasahs, primary school equivalents under Madrasah education board, would be nationalized back in January amid protests. However, authorities are yet to implement the announcement, they claimed.
As the procession neared the Secretariat gate, police blocked their movement. Scuffles between both sides lasted nearly half-an-hour. Later, police lobbed seven sound grenades and fired water cannon.
FP/MI
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