Commuters suffer as students block streets

Traffic snarls in Dhaka's streets caused by a student agitation has led to much suffering for commuters across the capital.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 13 Sept 2015, 09:01 AM
Updated : 13 Sept 2015, 10:58 AM

Students of the private universities are protesting a government decision to impose a 7.5 percent VAT on their fees.

From Sunday morning, they have taken out processions and blocked streets to demonstrate at Uttara's Abdullahpur, Pragati Sarani's Rampura and Merul, at Kakoli on the airport road, the Mohakhali road leading to Gulshan and some streets at Dhanmondi.

Most private universities are based in the Dhanmondi area.

Angry commuters have vented their ire against the protesting students.

Traffic came to a halt on the Pragati Sarani road—connecting the Airport Road with Moghbazar via Nadda, Natun Bazar, Badda, Rampur and Malibagh—after students of East West University blocked the street in front of their campus and started demonstrating.

Hundreds of people were seen heading to their destinations on foot or rickshaws.

Non-resident Bangladeshi Fazlur Rahman was stuck at Rampura around 12pm.

He was heading to the airport to catch a flight to Malaysia and at one stage he started off on foot.

“I am from Noakhali and I really am not familiar with the roads in Dhaka. Don’t know how I will reach the airport,” he said.

Street vendor Moktar Hossain got on a bus for Badda but the protests forced him to get down and walk from Rampura. He seemed clearly agitated.

Students have put up barricades on the road with bamboo poles.

Police said their request to move out from the street gone in vain.

“We had requested students not to block the street and cause public suffering, but they did not listen,” said Sub Inspector Mehedi Maqsud, who is deployed in the area.

But some, like Sheuli Begum, walking to home after picking up her son from school, supported the demonstrators.

“Despite the sufferings, I support them as my children also go to schools. I want the government to withdraw its decision on VAT,” she said.

Demonstration at the Mirpur Road end of Dhanmondi Road 27 has caused a huge tailback on the road between the Science Laboratory intersection and the College Gate bus stop at Mohammadpur.

Cars were seen turning around failing to move forward and commuters on bus started to walk to their destinations.

“I went to college and returned home walking on Thursday.  How long will this go on? There has to be a solution,” Tejgaon Technical College student Zakir Hossain told bdnews24.com.

School-goers and their parents in Dhanmondi, Azimpur, Peelkhana and the Dhaka University areas were in obvious trouble as the street from New Market to Kataban via Nilkhet was packed with stranded vehicles.

Hundreds of people were found waiting for a transport at the Kawla and Khilkhet bus stops on the Airport Road as students of several private universities are demonstrating at the Kakoli Intersection in Banani, where protestors put up a barricade with buses.