Student protests spread across Dhaka, other districts
Dhaka: Students from different schools and colleges took to the streets for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday demanding punishment of the driver responsible for Sunday’s accident that killed two college students in the city and resignation of the Shipping Minister for his comments on the accident.
Students of different schools and colleges blocked Farmgate, Matuail, Jatrabari, Babu Bazar Bridge, Kabi Nazrul Government College road, Tongi, House Building road in Uttara, Mirpur road and Science Laboratory areas in the morning, reports the UNB.
Besides, students from 15-20 colleges, including Sheikh Borhanuddin College, Dhaka College, Ideal College, and Commerce College, took position at Shahbagh intersection at noon demanding capital punishment of the driver and helpers of the killer bus and resignation of Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan.
They also chanted slogans saying, ‘We want justice’.
Besides, students of Dhaka University and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) also joined the protest programme of college students and expressed solidarity.
Witnesses said a group of students of different colleges blocked the House Building road in the city’s Uttara area in the morning, disrupting traffic movement.
Besides, another group of students put up barricade on Mirpur road, halting traffic movement from Mirpur-10 to Mirpur-1.
They also vandalised 15-20 vehicles passing through the area.
Meanwhile, commuters in different parts of the city are facing serious troubles in reaching their destinations as public transports went off the streets apprehending agitations by students and BRTA drive against underage drivers and drivers without licences in mass transports.
People were seen waiting on the roads for long for public transport. Office-goers and school students suffered most to reach their destinations in time.
However, some buses of BRTC were seen plying the city roads.
Our Gazipur correspondent reports: Students of EH Arif college put up barricade at Konabari on Dhaka-Tangail highway at 10 am, halting vehicular movement.
Besides, students of different schools and colleges took position and staged demonstrations in College Gate area on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway demanding safe road.
UNB Narayanganj correspondent reports: Transport owners stopped operating busses from Signboard areas fearing vandalism, causing sufferings to commuters.
Witnesses said a number of busses were kept standing at a point in Signboard area.
Earlier, the government on Tuesday asked the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) to take legal actions as per law against the underage drivers and drivers without licences in mass transports.
On Sunday, Diya Khanam Mim and Abdul Karim Rajib, students of the college section of ShaheedRamizUddin School and College, were killed as a ‘Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan’ bus ploughed through some students in front of Kurmitola General Hospital on Airport Road.
Angered by the incident, students went on a rampage vandalising whatever buses they found before them.
They also blocked the Airport Road for five hours on Monday, creating huge tailbacks on many city roads.
They blocked intersections in Farmgate, Mirpur, ECB Chattar, Kakrail, Shantinagar and Motijheel areas on Tuesday morning while in Uttara and Badda in the afternoon, bringing the vehicular movement to a grinding halt in the areas.