Part-IIITens of thousands of students took to the streets of Dhaka occupying several crossings and fully paralysing traffic movement in demand of the enforcement of road safety measures.
The demonstrators, mostly students in their mid-teens, chanted, "We want justice" on Thursday as they defied pouring rain to march in the capital, Dhaka, bringing traffic to a standstill.
The students began agitating after two of their fellows - Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College students - were killed when a reckless driver drove a Jabal-e-Noor company bus off the road and ploughed through a crowd while competing with another bus of the same company at Kurmitola in Dhaka on July 29 in 2018.
In the wake of the student protest, the Jatiya Sangsad on September 19 in 2018 passed the Road Transport Bill replacing the Motor Vehicles Ordinance 1983.
Thousands of students took to the streets in Dhaka on November 25 in 2021, protesting the death of Notre Dame College student Nayeem Hasan - who was killed after being hit by a garbage truck of Dhaka South City Corporation in Gulistan on November 24 in 2021.
On November 25 in 2021, a large group of students blocked busy roadways and harassed drivers in the capital city to protest against the death of a high school student in a car accident. Thousands of uniformed students stopped traffic outside the national parliament and Dhaka's central business district.
The demand of the students also included constructing footpaths, foot-over bridges or alternative ways to ensure safe movement for the public and ensuring compensation and rehabilitation for all passengers and transport workers harmed by road accidents.
They also demanded the construction of bus stoppage and parking space in a planned way, implementation of laws strictly, legalisation of all drivers through training, creation of modern, active traffic system and ensuring accountability of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority through surveillance.
There has been an alarming rise in the number of road accidents in Bangladesh over the last few years. The number of accidents and fatalities has continued to increase from 2020 to 2021. According to the Bangladesh Road Safety Foundation's (RSF) annual report, at least 6,284 people died, and 7,468 others were injured in road accidents between January and December 2021, compared to 5,431 people dead and 7,379 injured in road collisions in 2020.
Meanwhile, according to Nirapad Sarak Chai (NSC-We Demand Safe Roads), 4,289 people died in 3,793 traffic accidents in 2021.
In 2018, some 2,635 people were killed and 1,920 injured in 2,609 road accidents while 4,138 people were killed and 4,411 injured in 4,147 accidents in 2019 and 3,918 were killed and 3,826 injured in 4,198 accidents in 2020, as per police statistics.
Most of the demands for road safety, made by the students who had held protests for more than a week across the country, remain unimplemented despite positive initiatives and assurances from the authorities.
They also demanded taking all responsibilities by the government of the families of the deceased and injured, compelling the buses to carry students, half fare for the students, not allowing buses without fitness and driving by any unlicensed driver at any place of the country and ban on carrying passengers by public transports in excess of their capacity.
