Dhaka, Oct. 15 -- Teachers and employees under the MPO scheme, who have been demonstrating for a fourth consecutive day to demand 20 percent of their basic salary as housing allowance, have blocked Dhaka's Shahbagh intersection.

The demonstrators began marching from the Central Shaheed Minar toward Shahbagh around 1:15pm on Wednesday and reached the intersection at about 2pm, where they threw down police barricades and occupied the area.

Traffic came to a standstill at the thoroughfare as the blockade began.

Police had been stationed with barricades in front of Shahbagh Police Station in anticipation of the protest.

The blockade followed the expiration of a 12pm deadline set by the protesters for the government to accept their demands...