Students protest in Banani demanding half pass

Students have taken to the streets again demanding that the fare of the students in the transport running in the capital be halved. Students of Banani Vidyaniketan have blocked the road in front of banani post office. They started the blockade program at around 12 noon on Tuesday (August 23). Students were seen shouting slogans on the road in front of banani post office. They can be heard saying, “The only demand is that I want half pass rent.

Students of Banani Vidyaniketan School and College along with students of different colleges and universities also took part in the movement. The students complained that the authorities are not charging half-fare on the circular buses plying on the Gulshan-Banani-Notunbazar road. However, about a thousand students travel on this route every day. On this route of two and a half kilometers, the rent is being charged 30 taka.

They said that ‘Dhaka Chaka’ and ‘Gulshan Chaka’ transport will have to fix the fare at Tk 15. The movement will continue until the demands are met. Mujahid, a student of Banani Bidyaniketan School and College, said, “The fare fixed by the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) is charged across the country. This includes rules for half-renting for students. But the ‘Gulshan Chaka’, ‘Dhaka Chaka’ buses plying in Gulshan-Banani-New Bazar area are not charged half-fare.

Apart from the buses of these two companies, no other company bus can enter Gulshan-Banani. Students are forced to walk on this bus. From now on, they will have to execute the half pass. Another student, Aynal Hossain, said, “How can the rent of two and a half kilometers be Tk 30? Our demand has to be fixed at Tk 15. We had protested earlier demanding half pass but no work was done.

Sabbir Ahmed, a student, said, “If the demand is not met, we will go to North City Mayor Atiqul Islam and submit a memorandum. Banani Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Noor-e-Azam Mia said, “We have spoken to the bus authorities. The buses claim that they take half fare from the students. But we’re still looking into things. The students announced the program on Monday (August 22).

Earlier in November last year, students took to the streets of the capital for a few days demanding a half pass. They gathered at the capital’s Science Lab, Nilkhet and four street intersections. They were seen shouting the slogan ‘Half pass is my right, not any abdar’. In February 2019, students of Dhaka College took to the streets demanding half-fare on buses. They detained at least 25 buses of Winner, BKash, VIP Paribahan, demanding the implementation of The Half-Fare.