Students hold symbolic ‘funeral march’ for road safety in Dhaka

A group of students have held a road safety demonstration in Dhaka where they led a ‘march’ with a coffin to commemorate those killed in traffic accidents.

The march started from the Shahbag intersection at 12:45 pm on Sunday and came to an end half an hour later in front of Dhaka University’s Raju Memorial Sculpture.

“We have been holding demonstrations for a few days now to press home our nine-point demand. Our protests are being held in 18 districts across the country today,” said Inzamul Haque, a key convener of the recent student protests for safe roads, adding that the authorities obstructed their demonstration in Barishal.

Students in front of the Dhaka University's Raju Memorial Sculpture with a symbolic coffin demand safe roads on Sunday, Dec 5, 2021

“We have also shortened the length of our protests due to rain. But our demonstrations will continue. We will submit a memorandum to the Railways Ministry and the Shipping Ministry to introduce discounted fares for all students in the country,” Inzamul said.

Inzamul said that students will light candles to “illuminate the path” towards a revolutionised road transport system and will organise a session where rebel music will be played at Shahid Minar on Monday evening.

“Some ministers and important figures have been trying to create confusion about our demands and protests. We strongly criticised that,” Inzamul said after clarifying the nine-point demands from students.