Nothing reins in reckless driving

Local people blocked Dhaka-Rangpur Highway for around four hours and clashed with police after reckless driving claimed the life of yet another student in Rangpur on Sunday, only two weeks after student protests demanding road safety rocked the country. 
Angry protesters blocked the highway at Darshona, vandalised vehicles and clashed with police until 3:00pm after a Rangpur-bound bus of Bhai Bhai Paribahan ran over class X student Mohammad Jiyon, 16, of Collectorate School and College in the city, leaving him dead on the spot.
In another incident, a college student was killed in a road accident at Manirampur in Jessore Saturday night.
With the two, at least 10 school and college students were killed in road accidents across the country after the July 29 Kurmitola accident in Dhaka, which killed two students of Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College and injured 12 others as a bus competing with another one, ploughed through a crowd of students waiting for transports. 
The reckless driving continued to kill people although thousands of students took to streets after the Kurmitola accident and protested against road transport sector anarchy for nine days prompting the government to launch traffic week on August 5 to restore discipline to the sector. 
The police headquarters later on August 11 extended the programme until August as anarchy returned to roads immediately after the protests ended amidst police actions and attacks by pro-ruling Awami League activists on the protesters. 
In the eight days of the traffic week, the police took punitive actions against 1,46,363 vehicles and realised Tk 5,25,41,034 in fine, legal steps against 53,759 drivers and seized 4,104 vehicles across the country, according to a text message sent to media by police headquarters Sunday evening said. 
New Age correspondent in Rangpur reported that locals began demonstration by putting barricade on Rangpur–Dhaka Highway at Darshona point on the outskirts of the city sometimes after 11:00am after the class X student was killed by a Rangpur-bound bus of Bhai Bhai Paribahan.
The victim, son of Jahidul Islam of village Mondolerhat under Badargonj in the district, met the fatal accident when he was on his way to 
his dormitory after private tuition in his bicycle.
Immediately after the accident, the bus driver and his assistant fled leaving the bus abandoned, the policeand locals said.
Fellow students reached the spot by 12:00pm and joined the demonstration by the local people demanding arrest of the bus driver and his assistant and justice for the victim.
Police forces reached the spot and tried to calm the demonstrators.
Traffic came to a standstill on both sides of the point.
About 2:00pm, the demonstrators turned violent and smashed glasses of two buses and one ambulance while police and protesters were locked in a chase and counter-chase.
The protesters hurled brick bats on police who in retaliation charged baton and lobbed teargas shells on the protesters, police and witnesses said.
Police said that they also had to fire blanks to disperse the protesters.
Rangpur Kotwali Police Station officer-in-charge Mokhtarul Islam said that at least 10 people, including police, were injured. 
He said that adequate number of police was deployed in the area to avoid any untoward incident.
New Age correspondent in Jessore, quoting police, reported that a second year honours student of Jessore Government City College, Karimul Alam, 22, son of Shamsul Alam of village Gobindapur was killed and another student Murad Hossain, 19, son of Abdur Rahim of the same area, injured as a goods-laden pick-up van hit their motorcycle on Jessore-Chuknagar Road in front of Jessore Palli Bidyut Samity office at Monirampur around 8:00pm on Saturday.
Sub-inspector Tapos Kumar of Monirampur Police Station said the police sent the body to Jessore General Hospital after filing a case in this connection. 

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net