CU students cry for safe journey

Students go to Chittagong University by shuttle trains everyday risking their lives. Photo: Anurup Kanthi Das

Over 14,000 students of Chittagong University (CU) are herded onto trains daily to shuttle between the university and the port city of Chittagong.
They have been facing the intolerable sufferings due to acute transport crisis for years as the authorities concerned are indifferent to the matter.
The third largest university of the country started its journey in 1966 with seven teachers and 202 students. It has now become a family of nearly 20,000 students, 650 teachers and 2,000 officers and employees.
Of 20,000 students, only about 22 per cent enjoy residential facilities on the campus while eight per cent others reside in the private cottages in and outside the campus.
Being deprived of residential facilities, a huge chunk of students are being forced to reside in the port city. It takes them over one hour to reach the campus from the city, hampering their regular studies.
The university launched the train service for the students in cooperation with the Bangladesh Railway in 1980.
Seven trains shuttle between the university and the port city everyday to carry the students.
There are four university-bound shuttle trains containing nine compartments each having capacity of 1080 seats. Girl students are the worst sufferers as these trains are not adequate for the 14,000 university-bound students in the morning.
Being forced, a large number of students take their trips on the roof of the train, causing frequent accidents.
Sabikunnahar, a student of Bengali department, was killed in 2006 as she tried to get on a running train at the university station.
Mahmudul Hasan Mamun lost his life in 2008 while he was trying to get on the roof of a shuttle train at Sholoshahar Railway Station in the city.
There are also private-run minibus, popularly known as tori, services that always remain overcrowded as they carry passengers almost two times more than their capacity. Besides, the bus fare is much higher which, the students cannot afford. As such shuttle train is the only means of transportation for a huge number of university students.
Walid Hasan, 4th year student of Communication and Journalism department, said he is to travel to the university standing on the doorstep of the train as his residence is in the city's free-port area. He said shuttle train is his only way for traveling to and from the campus.
Bristi Dey, another student, said she goes to university by tori (human-hauler) as her home is in city's Kalurghat area. Bristi said she is to endure endless sufferings as the overcrowded toris carry general passengers. There are bus services for the teachers and employees, depriving the students of the facilities, she added.
Prof Abul Kashem Chowdhury, president of Chittagong University Teachers' Association (Cuta), said it is the only university in the country that fully depends on shuttle trains for student transportation.
But the trains are inadequate in comparison with the number of students, hampering academic activities of the students, he said, adding that the teachers are also being affected to a great extent.
Prof Kashem emphasised expansion and modernisation of the train services to ease transport problem.
Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Alauddin said, “We are very much aware of the problem that can not be solved immediately as it needs a long-term plan."
Prof Alauddin said the university needs government's cooperation as it does not have enough funds to create facilities alternative to the shuttle train.