JU buses in need of a parking space
DCC yet to provide an alternative
Kausar Islam Ayon
Jahangirnagar University (JU) buses that carry the institu-tions teachers, students and employees between the city and the campus daily have lost their designated parking spot resulting in a disturbance of the transportation chain.The Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) recently stopped all parking inside Osmani Uddyan, the place where JU buses were kept since 1986. The DCC authority has now started the much awaited renovation and beautification of Osmani Uddyan and has no choice but to stop illegal par-king. However, the corporation is responsible in providing an alternative parking spot. "We had no choice but to ask them to relocate the parking spot, suggesting they park in front of Fazlul Haque hall," said Abu Taleb, DCC's chief estate officer. He said the JU authorities last week in a letter requested the DCC to arrange a bay in front of the Engineering Institute adjoining the Suhrawardy Park, but gave no reason why the buses could not be parked in front of the Fazlul Haque hall. The university authorities said they got permission from the then Deputy Commissioner (DC), traffic department in 1986 to park their buses inside the Osmani Park. "We have around eight to 10 buses plying to and from the city and there isn't adequate space to park them all in front of the Fazlul Haque Hall," said Prof. Illius Mollah, in-charge of JU transport. "Only two buses can be parked there at a time," he said. JU staff members complained that students of the Fazlul Haque hall assaulted them and asked them not to park their buses recently, to which allegation JU officials did not comment. "We carry 150 teachers and hundreds of students from Dhaka to JU everyday. We need to park the vehicles somewhere in the city so that we can start the trip quite early," said Prof. Mollah. "If we are not permitted to park somewhere in the city the buses will have to return to the university every evening. Thus an extra expense would be incurred for a round trip from the city and back in the morning to pick the staff," added Mollah. JU students said that they are not facing any problems with the relocation of the parking spot but demanded a permanent solution to the situation. "The university authorities ensure that everything runs smoothly, but we want a permanent bus stop," said Shah Alam, a JU student residing in the city. A DCC official, not wanting to be named said they would decide on a location on the request of the JU authorities.
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