Students to hold ‘red card’ protest against road anomalies today

Students have announced to hold a ‘red card’ protest on the Rampura bridge on Saturday, in continuation of their ongoing protest against deaths on roads, mismanagement and corruption.

The protest has been scheduled to start on the bridge at 12:00pm.

Students of Khilgaon Model College said they will continue the protest until all their demands are fulfilled and hold road mismanagement and corruption responsible for the accidents and deaths. The program has been announced keeping the HSC candidates and students in mind.

Meanwhile, students of different schools and colleges continued their ongoing protests beside the Rampura Bridge in Dhaka on Friday morning.

However, the demonstrators did not blockade the connecting roads and halt traffic movement like the previous days when similar protests were held.

They stayed on the side of the road and raised slogans demanding the authorities meet their 11-point demand.

Additional police forces have been deployed in the area to maintain law and order. On November 3, the government raised the prices of diesel and kerosene by Tk15 per litre, prompting transport owners to enforce an indefinite strike in the country on November 7 demanding a hike in bus fares.

Amid the woes of the public caused by the strike, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) raised the fares of city service and long-haul buses by more than 25%.

Following the fare hike, students started demonstrating on the streets of Dhaka demanding half fares on public transports.

The student protests gained traction with the added demand for road safety following the death of a Notre Dame College student on November 24.On November 29, another student, who took the SSC exams this year, was run over and killed by a bus in Dhaka’s Rampura.

The incident prompted an agitated mob to torch at least eight buses in the area, and further stoked concerns about reckless driving and safety on roads.

Students have blocked the road in the Rampura Bridge area for the past few days as part of an ongoing movement for road safety.

The demonstrations have caused heavy congestion in the area for the past few days, but the traffic situation seemed to be normal on Friday.