Bangladesh Violence: Sunday-Monday Declared Holidays; Curfew to Be Relaxed for 2 Hours

Dhaka: As protests over government job quotas in Bangladesh identify and the death toll mounts, the Sheikh Hasina-led government has declared Sunday and Monday as public holidays.

The government has also announced that the nationwide curfew will remain in place till the top court's judgement is not delivered however there will be a relaxation in the curfew today.

Sunday-Monday Public Holidays: Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina

As the death toll in Bangladesh crosses 110 and continues to rise, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government has declared Sunday and Monday as public holidays in the country.

The government has said that on these two days, only emergency services will be allowed to operate.

Curfew To Be Relaxed For Two Hours: Bangladesh Home Minister

The Home Minister of Bangladesh, Asaduzzaman Khan has said that the nationwide curfew is not being liftd but it will be relaxed from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday for people to run essential errands.

Today, the Supreme Court will deliver a verdict on whether to abolish the job quotas; soldiers are patrolling cities across the South Asian country.

Reason Behind Unrest in Bangladesh: Why Are Students Protesting?

The nationwide demonstrations, called for mainly by the student groups, began weeks ago to protest a quota system that reserves up to 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971. 

Students believe that this reservation is discriminatory in nature and particularly favours the supporters of the current ruling party. 

Therefore, they are demanding recruitment on the basis of merit as these jobs provide high job security and better pay.