Students of Dhaka University laid a two-hour long siege to one of Dhaka's key intersection, Shahbagh, on Sunday pressing for a five-point charter of demands including construction of an underpass or an over-bridge at the intersection.
The protest halted traffic in the busy hours of the day and led to severe backlogs in the area.
The protest which started around 11:45am was sparked by the death of international relations student, Touhiduzzaman on Aug 28 after being run over by a bus at the intersection.
The students withdrew their siege around 1:45pm after Dhaka City Corporation South's Chief Executive Officer Sultan Islam Chowdhury told them that they would be building an over-bridge at the crossing as an underpass was not possible.
"We will start taking measurements from tomorrow," he promised.
The students had initially gathered in front of the Arts Faculty building around 10:30am before taking out a procession up to Shahbagh intersection before stopping all traffic through the vital crossroads.
The university's Proctor Professor Amzad Ali urged the students to lift the siege, but was turned down.
They said that they would not relent until a senior government official assures them that their demands will be met.
Their demands included building underpasses at Shahbagh and New Market intersections, foot over-bridges at all the other crossings including Doyel Chattar and Palashi roundabout, ensuring strictest punishment for the driver of the assailant bus, providing Tk 10 million compensation for the family of the deceased from the transport company, implementing a strict ban on vehicles without stickers entering the campus and taking the initiative to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister urging her to ensure security of the students.
The protest halted traffic in the busy hours of the day and led to severe backlogs in the area.
The protest which started around 11:45am was sparked by the death of international relations student, Touhiduzzaman on Aug 28 after being run over by a bus at the intersection.
The students withdrew their siege around 1:45pm after Dhaka City Corporation South's Chief Executive Officer Sultan Islam Chowdhury told them that they would be building an over-bridge at the crossing as an underpass was not possible.
"We will start taking measurements from tomorrow," he promised.
The students had initially gathered in front of the Arts Faculty building around 10:30am before taking out a procession up to Shahbagh intersection before stopping all traffic through the vital crossroads.
The university's Proctor Professor Amzad Ali urged the students to lift the siege, but was turned down.
They said that they would not relent until a senior government official assures them that their demands will be met.
Their demands included building underpasses at Shahbagh and New Market intersections, foot over-bridges at all the other crossings including Doyel Chattar and Palashi roundabout, ensuring strictest punishment for the driver of the assailant bus, providing Tk 10 million compensation for the family of the deceased from the transport company, implementing a strict ban on vehicles without stickers entering the campus and taking the initiative to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister urging her to ensure security of the students.
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