DHAKA UNIVERSITY (DU): Hundreds of students staging demonstrations for safer roads in wake of a university student’s death said they will keep Shahbagh intersection blocked until Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina comes up with any specific assurance. 

They uttered the determination while police asked them to leave the area Wednesday (March 20) noon.

The agitating students were seen holding various placards and national flags and shouting “We want justice” and other slogans for safer roads, around 1pm.

In the morning, students of Dhaka University (DU) gathered before the Raju Sculpture and took a rally to Shahbagh Intersection causing vehicular movement stopped.

“We will continue the protests until assurance for safer road comes,” DU’s finance department second-year student Shahriar told Banglanews. 

Nurul Haque Nur, newly elected Vice President (VP) of Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (Ducsu), expressed solidarity with the protesting students.

He urged the authorities concerned to withdraw all cases filed against students during the road safety movement in late July to early August, 2018, and sought Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s interference into the demands raised by the students.

However, students of various universities including Jagannath University (JnU), American International University Bangladesh (AIUB), North South University (NSU), Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) were also staging demonstrations shocked by the death of BUP student Abrar Ahmed Chowdhury who was crushed to death by a bus in front of Jamuna Future Park in the capital’s Kuril early Tuesday (March 19).

BDST: 1501 HRS, MAR 20, 2019
SI