Maximum age limit-35 for government job-seekers staged demonstration at the Shahbag intersection and blocked the crossing to enforce their demands on Saturday (September 7).
The prescheduled gathering was initiated in front of the National Museum of Shahbagh under the banner of 35 hopeful general students'.
Mahmudur Rahman Manna, convener of the Civic Unity (Nagorik Oikkya), joined the program to express solidarity.
He said, “It will become like a dictionary to talk about the number of irregularities in the recruitment of government jobs in Bangladesh. There is no exact accounting for how many temporary appointments there are, when one can be kicked out by ear. There is no opportunity to take legal action against these.”
Manna also said, “The movement we did was not just a movement to overthrow the government. We have said it is a movement to change the country, a movement to change misrule. The main goal of our movement was to remove discrimination from the country. The interim government is trying to handle everything nicely. I think our country is changing.”
The agitators said that the maximum age limit for applying for jobs in Bangladesh was raised from 27 years to 30 years in 1991, 33 years ago. When the average life expectancy of people in Bangladesh was 57 years, currently, the average life expectancy of people in Bangladesh has increased to 73 years. Therefore, it is logical to increase the age-limit for applying for jobs.
He added: “In 2011, the retirement age was increased from 57 to 59 years due to increasing in average life expectancy. But, instead of raising the age limit for entry into employment, it is kept at 30 years, due to which the number of highly educated remains unemployed and is increasing gradually.”
Meanwhile, City dwellers faced heavy traffic congestion due to blockade. Besides, Abdul Basir named a city dweller added that it is painful to say that we are facing regular traffic problems everywhere. Today, I went to the doctor. At that time, they stopped me and the vehicle couldn't move. As a result, I had to go medical on foot.
