After Student's Death in Sitakunda, DC Writes to Secretary for Footoverbridge; Rumble Strips and Eviction Drive Begin

Within a day of the death of university student Maisha Mushfirat in a road accident in Sitakunda, Chattogram, District Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Miah has moved to build a footoverbridge so students can cross the road safely. On Tuesday (3 November) he wrote to the secretary of the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges asking for the necessary steps to build the bridge beside the main gate of the International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC).

Maisha Mushfirat, a second-semester student of IIUC's English department, was killed on Tuesday morning in the accident at Kumira in Sitakunda, on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway. Another student and a pedestrian were injured in the same accident.

Protesting the death, IIUC students took to the streets with eight demands, including safer roads. District Commissioner Zahidul Islam spoke to the protesting students at Kumira on Tuesday. After receiving assurances that the demands would be met, the students lifted their blockade of the highway and railway after about six hours.

District administration sources said building the footoverbridge beside the university's main gate has been given priority in response to the students' demands. The letter to the secretary requested swift action so students can cross the road safely.

The district administration also wrote on the same day to the Roads and Highways Department seeking measures to control vehicle speed at the accident site. Following that, work to install rumble strips began there on Wednesday (4 November). The administration said rumble strips, removal of illegal parking and road widening all began within 24 hours of the district commissioner's intervention.

On Wednesday, on the district commissioner's instructions, the district administration and the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) jointly cleared illegal parking and encroachments from the area between the highway and the railway line. A mobile court led by BRTA executive magistrate Dipak Tripura ordered KDS Depot and other establishments to remove vehicles illegally parked on both sides of the road, and took a written statement from the KDS authorities.

Fines totalling 55,000 taka were imposed in 15 cases over illegal occupation and related irregularities during the drive. Road widening work has also begun, the district administration said.

A process is under way to give five lakh taka in financial assistance through the BRTA to the family of the dead student, Maisha Mushfirat, based on the family's application. Steps have also been taken to identify the owner of the vehicle involved in the accident so compensation can be paid to the affected family.

In response to the students' demand, university representative Md. Amzad Hossain filed a case on Tuesday at Sitakunda Model Police Station against an unnamed driver. The case number is 11. Law enforcement agencies are conducting a joint operation to arrest the accused driver, the district administration said.

The students' demands included filing a case through the university authorities, arresting the accused driver within 24 hours and taking legal action against the driver and owner, stopping illegal parking at the KDS depot, building a footoverbridge, paying compensation to the dead student's family and ensuring safe road crossing.

The district administration said District Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Miah is in contact with the relevant ministries and offices to implement the students' eight demands, coordinating with the Roads and Highways Department and the BRTA with priority on the footoverbridge, and that work to implement the demands quickly will continue.