Chicago – July 29, 2024
Bangladesh restored mobile internet services on Sunday following an 11-day internet blackout in response to the days-long student protests over government job quotas.
The country’s 4G mobile internet services resumed Sunday, following a meeting with internet service providers and other leaders, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, the state minister for telecommunications and information communication technology, announced on social media.
Palak said the internet providers “suffered financial losses” and leaders decided to give all internet users a “5G internet bonus” for the next three days.
The South Asian nation has been roiled with chaos and violence as student protesters demand an end to a quota that reserved 30 percent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971, The Associated Press (AP) reported. The students have argued the quota system is discriminatory and began peaceful protests after a High Court bench reinstated the quotas last month after they were abolished in 2018, Al Jazeera reported.
