Dhaka-Ctg highway blockade lifted, traffic resumes

Traffic on Dhaka-Chittagong highway returned to normal after one-and-half hour following the death of a college student in Comilla yesterday.

Protesting students and teachers of Hasanpur Shaheed Nazrul Government Degree College lifted their blockade after authorities’ assurance of justice, a local stringer reports.

Mahmuda Akhter, 17, a class XI student of the college and daughter of Abdul Khaleque, a local of Daudkandi upazila, died earlier yesterday, crushed under a truck in front of her institution. Another student, Rokeya, was injured at scene.

Students and teachers of the institution barricaded the highly busy highway from 11:30am, said Abdul Awal, officer-in-charge of Daudkandi Highway Police Station. The blockade caused a 12-kilometre long tailback.

Traffic movement on the highway became normal around 1:00pm after Md Asaduzzaman, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Daudkandi, assured them of meeting their demands. He pledged to build a foot-over bridge and a passenger shelter near the college.

He also handed over Tk 10,000 each to the relatives of the deceased and injured students. The protesting students demanded the arrest and punishment of the truck driver who managed to flee the spot, the OC said.

They also demanded a foot-over bridge, a passenger shelter at the bus stop, limiting excessive honking by the vehicles, sting up a zebra crossing and reducing the size of the divider for their safety in the area.

Law enforcers seized the truck yesterday, the OC also said.