Bangladesh has been reeling under massive protests as thousands of students have been out on the streets to protest against the country's lax transport laws. Dhaka remained paralysed on Sunday, August 5, as teenagers dressed in school uniforms erected check posts and ensured that government officials also followed traffic rules.
In tune, the nation's cabinet is said to be mulling capital punishment for road accident deaths and the amendment has reportedly been proposed in the Parliament. The current punishment for fatal road accidents is a maximum imprisonment of three years.
"In this amendment it has been proposed to award the highest level of punishment if it is killing by an accident," Reuters quoted a law ministry official as saying. The official wasn't named.
The protests rocked Dhaka for the ninth day on August 6, after two teenagers were killed and 12 others were wounded by a speeding bus on July 29. The driver was said to have lost control of the bus when it was racing with another vehicle to pick up passengers.
Speaking of the negligence and how drivers are also overworked, Sheikh Shafi, a student of a polytechnic institute in Dhaka who lost his brother in a road accident in 2015, said that drivers are often not paid regular salary and work on commissions, which depend on the number of passengers ferried.
"Our demand is that the owners must appoint them and they will work a maximum of 10 hours. The commission based system must be eliminated," Shafi told Reuters.
The students, who belong to different schools and colleges, are demanding more stringent traffic laws and road safety across the country. While the protests remained largely peaceful in the first few days, violent clashes broke out when the authorities fired tear gas and used batons on students occupying intersections in the city.
Since then, violence has been reported from several parts and at least 200 protestors have been left injured. Not just the police, pro-government student unions also attacked the protestors with tree branches and scraps of metal in turn injuring five photojournalists, including a photographer from the Associated Press, reported Sydney Morning Herald. Internet services also remain suspended in the city.
Speaking of the violence, Mohammad Atikur Rahman, one of the protesters, told dpa news agency: "It was a peaceful rally but suddenly police fired tear gas shells aimed at us [that] left several injured."
"The pro-government students attacked," Hasan, a young protester, added. "Then we broke the locks of a building and around 50 boys and girls took shelter there. And now the journalists helped us to leave the place. The police fired tear gas and used batons. The pro-government students also attacked and roughed up the girls."
