A large number of students died and many others sustained severe injuries in separate road accidents in the country in recent years. The country witnessed a sharp rise in road crashes and especially death of students.
According to media reports, communication on Chattogram-Kaptai road remained suspended for the third consecutive day on Wednesday as the students of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (Cuet) blocked the road protesting the death of two fellows in a road crash . The students took to the street boycotting classes and examinations and blocked the Chattogram-Kaptai road by setting fire on logs and tyres to press home their nine point demand for safe road.
Two Cuet students—Shanto Saha, a third year student and Tawfiq Hasan, a second year student of Civil engineering department, died when a bus of ‘Shah Amanat’ paribahan hit a motorbike on Chattogram-Kaptai road at Zianagar in Rangunia upazila on Monday. We wish to express our grave concern and alarm with regard to the continuous spate of horrific road crashes that killed our students and injured many others.
Country witnessed the students mostly schools, colleges and university several times took to the streets in protest against the death of their fellow students across the country throughout the last three years. The wave of protests against the road accident spread to everywhere during that period.
Death toll of the
fatal road crash in our country
continued rising
Apart from the students, thousands of people and socio-cultural organisations also took to the streets of the country to protest the death of students in road crashes. Tackling protests across the country in the wake of students’ death, the government had come up with a lot of commitments to reduce road accidents at any cost.
The government had also given a set of directives asking authorities concerned to take up different measures including keeping doors of the running buses always closed and stopping getting in and down of passengers without stoppage to ensure road safety in the capital. But, in fact the death toll of the fatal road crash in our country continued rising, mostly young students on route to their respective educational institutions due to a large number of small vehicles plying the highways and a lack of monitoring by the authorities concerned.
There is no alternative to advanced transport facilities for our students. It is urgent to ensure road safety along with developing the country’s road infrastructures in the country. The government must be committed to ensuring people’s safety and security while they will be travelling by roads and highways every day.
All concerned including voluntary organisations, private establishments, teachers and guardians are to extend cooperation to the government in taking forward the road safety activities for the sake of our students and people as well. Strengthen discipline in road transport sector and find ways to prevent road accidents immediately.