A six-hour gridlock that brought one of Bangladesh’s most critical transport corridors to a grinding halt ended on Tuesday afternoon, as grieving students of the International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC) lifted their blockade of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway and adjacent railway line.
The intense protest was sparked by the tragic death of a 21-year-old student in a horrific road collision outside the campus gate.
The demonstration erupted shortly after 9:30am in Sitakunda’s Kumira area, following the untimely death of Maisha Mushfirat, a second-semester undergraduate in IIUC’s Department of English Language and Literature.
According to university officials, Maisha and two others were waiting beside the highway opposite the Dallas Petrol Pump when a reckless lorry slammed into a local Route 8 bus. The force of the impact caused the bus to roll over, crushing the bystanders beneath its weight.
Maisha suffered critical injuries and was rushed to Chattogram Medical College Hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead shortly before 11:00am.
Another IIUC student, Razia Sultana, sustained injuries and was admitted to Chattogram Metropolitan Hospital, while a third pedestrian also required medical attention.
Maisha, originally from Botkatia village in Mirsarai upazila, was remembered as a bright student returning home when disaster struck.
News of the fatality sent shockwaves through the campus, transforming grief into immediate rage.
Outraged by long-standing safety hazards, including heavy transport speeding past campus gates and chronic roadside parking, hundreds of students poured onto the arterial routes.
Protesters erected barricades across the highway and placed massive tree trunks across the railway tracks, completely severing road and rail communications.
The blockade left hundreds of vehicles, including emergency ambulances, stranded in miles-long tailbacks.
Although Sitakunda Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Fakhrul Islam and local police officials arrived swiftly to negotiate, the students refused to budge, demanding the direct intervention of the district’s top executive.
The impasse broke only when Chattogram Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Miah arrived at the scene, accompanied by Superintendent of Police Md Masud Alam, District Ansar Commandant Md Sefaul Hossain, and IIUC vice-chancellor alongside senior faculty members.
Showing solidarity with the grieving community, the DC and accompanying officials joined students in attending Maisha’s funeral prayers, held directly on the highway.
Addressing the crowd post-prayer, DC Zahidul Islam assured students that the administration had already set the wheels in motion to overhaul local traffic management and deliver justice.
He revealed that he had directly contacted top ministry and road authorities to fast-track safety measures.
“I will write today regarding the footbridge so that it can be constructed here as quickly as possible,” the deputy commissioner pledged, confirming that a formal proposal for a pedestrian overpass outside the main campus gate was being submitted that very afternoon.
In response to furious complaints regarding industrial lorries hogging public lanes, the DC took a firm stance against local transport operators.
“There will be no illegal parking here. If any industrial establishment occupies the road to park lorries or other vehicles, we will not allow them to remain,” he insisted, targeting structures and vehicles associated with the nearby KDS depot. He further committed to clearing illegal encroachments along the railway line.
Addressing accountability, the police administration gave assurances that the fugitive lorry driver would be apprehended and brought under the law within hours.
The administration also committed to facilitating financial compensation for Maisha’s family from the vehicle owner and arranging state assistance where required.
Satisfied by the binding commitments and appealing to the students’ empathy regarding stranded emergency services, the administration successfully persuaded the crowd to disperse.
At 4:10pm, the blockade was formally cleared, restoring traffic and train operations along the vital corridor.
