Traffic congestion is a familiar reality in the capital. What Dhaka is facing now, however, goes far beyond inconvenience. The city was brought to a near standstill by the ongoing protests of students from the seven colleges demanding a separate university. The merit of this demand can be debated elsewhere. What cannot be ignored is the severe suffering of ordinary citizens.
Major roads have been blocked for days. People remain trapped in buses for hours. Elderly patients and sick newborns are being carried on foot as families walk long distances in desperation. Doctors are unable to reach hospitals for emergency procedures. Ambulances are stuck in traffic. There are no alternative routes. In the name of protest, the city's lifeline has been cut.
Those demonstrating appear detached from this human cost. Ordinary people are not their opponents. These are the same citizens whose taxes fund public education. When protests disregard human life, they lose moral legitimacy. Reports of ambulances being obstructed are deeply disturbing. Even more alarming are statements suggesting that deaths are acceptable and responsibility lies to the government. Such thinking reflects a profound ethical failure.
Road blockades have become a recurring tactic in recent years. Public space is seized, and citizens are effectively taken hostage. The seven college students were aware, at the time of admission, that they were enrolled in colleges affiliated with Dhaka University. Demanding structural transformation midway requires serious consideration through institutional channels, not coercion through public suffering.
Daily wage earners suffer the most. Rickshaw pullers, laborers, and low-income workers depend on each day's income to feed their families. Hunger does not pause for protests. Using the hardship of the poor as leverage against the state is neither just nor defensible.
Public concern has also grown over the conduct of some protesters. Reports of verbal abuse, harassment of working women, and insults directed at elderly citizens are deeply troubling. A movement for rights that abandons civility undermines its own cause. Without respect for basic human dignity, no protest can claim the moral high ground.
Public frustration is now reaching a dangerous point. The state cannot afford to remain passive. Ensuring public safety and the uninterrupted flow of essential services is a fundamental responsibility. The everyday lives of millions cannot be sacrificed for the demands of a few. Prolonged paralysis of the city is unacceptable.
Unchecked anger carries serious risks. When people are pushed to the edge, restraint erodes. Prolonged suffering breeds resentment, and that resentment can erupt into violence. If that happens, responsibility will be difficult to deny. Public tolerance has limits, and those limits are fast approaching.
Both the government and the protesters must act responsibly. Authorities should urgently communicate a clear, time-bound decision regarding the students' demands. Prolonged uncertainty only intensifies unrest. At the same time, law enforcement must ensure that roads remain open and emergency services can operate freely.
No one wants confrontation or bloodshed. But normal life cannot remain suspended indefinitely. The sight of a mother stranded with a sick child, a worker fearing wage cuts, or a laborer unable to provide food for their family is a collective failure. Protest is a democratic right. But it must never come at the cost of public suffering. Public interest must come first.
The writer is a contributor
