Student protests spill across Dhaka, neighbourhood

Angry student protesters blocked Dhaka city’s major intersections for the fourth day Wednesday, disrupting traffic movement in and around the capital city.

Students from different schools and colleges took to the streets demanding punishment of the driver responsible for Sunday's road crash that killed two college students and resignation of shipping minister Shahjahan Khan for his comments on the accident.

The protesters blocked Farmgate, Science Laboratory, New Market, Green Road-Panthapath, Banasree, Rampura, Matuail, Jatrabari, Babu Bazar Bridge, Bhatara, Khilkhet, Kabi Nazrul Government College road, Tongi, House Building road in Uttara, and Mirpur road in the morning.

According to UNB, , students from around 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 the shipping minister.

Students of Dhaka University and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) joined the protests and expressed their solidarity with their demands.

Students of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, Siddeshwari Girls' School and College and Habibullah Bahar College took to the streets with placards and took position at Shantinagar intersection around 1pm. They chanted different slogans demanding punishment of the driver responsible and left the place around 3pm.

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.

Another group of students put up barricade on Mirpur road, halting traffic from Mirpur-10 to Mirpur-1 areas. They also vandalised some 20 vehicles passing through the area.

The agitated students torched and vandalised a staff bus of Biman Bangladesh Airlines near Kurmitola Golf Club.

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 transports. Office-goers and school students, particularly women and girls, suffered most to reach their destinations in time.

However, some BRTC buses were seen plying the city roads.

UNB's Gazipur correspondent reports: Students of EH Arif College put up barricades 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 safety on roads.

UNB Narayanganj correspondent adds: Transport owners stopped operating busses from Signboard areas fearing vandalism, causing sufferings to commuters.

Witnesses said a number of busses were found stationary at a point in Signboard area.

In Chittagong, students from different schools and colleges on Wednesday blocked the road near Kazirdewri area demanding punishment of those responsible for the death of the two students.

Several hundred students of different institutions gathered in the area and brought out a procession that paraded Kazirdewri and Jamalkhan areas.

Officer-in-charge of Kotwali police station Md Mohsin said the students left the place at noon.

UNB Sylhet correspondent reports: students of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) formed a human chain protesting Sunday's death of the two students.

In the morning, the general students of the university formed the human chain in front of its Central Library on the campus.

They also demanded resignation of the shipping minister.

On Tuesday, the government 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.