Students still on streets
Students will stage a sit in on the BRTA office premises in the capital's Banani today to press home their nine-point demand.
The demands include issuing a gazette notification with regard to half-passes for students on public transport.
The agitating students said if the notification of half fare is not issued by today, they would announce their next programme at the sit-in programme.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Road Transport Owners' Association will hold a press briefing today to announce their decision on the students' half-fare demand.
Students demonstrating for safer roads and half bus fare over the past couple of weeks also took to the street yesterday in different parts of the capital.
At the Nilkhet intersection, protesters said they have not gotten any assurance from the government, which had earlier given many assurances without any implementation.
They said they have demanded half fare on all buses, not just on BRTC ones.
Some people are trying to malign the movement in various ways, they alleged.
A similar protest was held in Shantinagar by students of different colleges and schools of the area. In hundreds, they first blocked the Shantinagar intersection and then marched in a procession to Kakrail and back to Shantinagar around 2:45pm.
Nirapad Sarak Andolon, a group of road safety campaigners, yesterday submitted a memorandum to the education ministry, seeking steps to realise the nine-point demand.
The demands include ensuring justice and compensation for victims of road accidents, issuing a gazette notification to provide half-passes for students and ensuring safety for women on public, using an automated and upgraded traffic management system, and including traffic laws in the national curriculum.
Meanwhile, police yesterday foiled the Shahbagh blockade programme of eight leftist student organisations, who took to the streets in solidarity with the ongoing student protests.
They gathered in front of the Public Library and spoke out against police obstruction and for their three-point demand, including ensuring half fare for students and reducing price hike of daily commodities.
Dilip Roy, general secretary of Chhatra Maitri, one of the eight organisations, said, "Police are not friends of the people. Their obstruction has proved that they do not want safe roads. The movement cannot be stopped by the police."
Moudud Hawlader, officer-in-charge of Shahbagh Police Station, said, "Shahbagh is an important intersection. There are two hospitals on each side. Blocking this junction could lead to a miserable situation."
At Rampura, students detained 41 buses of Raida Paribahan around 2:30pm after a helper of a bus allegedly pushed a female student off the bus around 11:30am.
As the buses were kept on the roadside, the entire area was gridlocked.
Later, bus owners and student representatives held a discussion at the Rampura Police Station and resolved the issue, said Rampura Police OC Rafiqul Islam.
Students of different educational institutions in Chattogram also demonstrated at the Wasa intersection, demanding half fare for students in public transport.
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