KARACHI, March 20: At the end of a condolence meeting and Quran Khawani on Wednesday, the enraged students and teachers of Apwa Government Girls’ College announced to stage a demonstration at the office of City Nazim on Thursday to register their protest against the indifferent attitudes of provincial and city governments.
The college of 4,000 students presented a gloomy look as teachers and students mourned the death of the two college students — Nida Afzal and Rabia Mehwish — who were killed by a speeding bus near the college at Karimabad on Tuesday.
Though the students and teachers were present in a large number, there were no routine lectures or lab works; the college bell remained still.
Following the accident, in which a motorcyclist was also killed and nine other students injured, it was announced that teaching activities would remain suspended on Wednesday, but Quran Khawani would be held for the departed souls.
A senior teacher told Dawn that the situation was unmanageable in the morning as highly perturbed and grief-driven students wanted to stage a protest demonstration against the apathy of the authorities towards unchecked reckless driving.
However, they were convinced to show patience as the authorities would surely be coming to the college during the day and that would be the right time to apprise them of the students’ problems. “It is unfortunate that none of the public representatives and government officials bothered to visit the college to join the students and the faculty members in mourning the death of the two students,” a student of degree class said.
“We have been left alone to mourn the deaths due to traffic accidents. On average, we have lost one student per year during the last four years,” added the student and pointed out that the students were faced with a host of other problems outside the college.
The teachers and students referred to many of the problems, particularly those related to traffic. Almost one year has passed after the opening of the Liaquatabad flyover, but no uplift and road construction works have been undertaken.
The four roads under the flyover remain busy almost round-the-clock. The students have to cross almost all the roads at the Karimabad roundabout, but there is no traffic signals or Zebra crossing, said a teacher and referred to the nearby unauthorized inter-city terminus, which has affected normal traffic flow and has become a source of problems for girl students.
The students said the entire area along the main roads in the vicinity had been under the use of encroachers. Establishment of big markets has been allowed without meeting the criterion of compulsory parking lots within the commercial and residential complexes, they pointed out.
There is no proper deployment of police at the roundabout for the facilitation of students and other pedestrians. “The extraordinary deployment of traffic police and law enforcement agencies is a part of temporary cosmetic measures aimed at checking the students from staging any protest demonstration, otherwise they are least concerned in protecting human lives,” said another student.
“There are many problems that need an immediate attention by the government and for these reasons we have decided to go to the City Nazim office at 10am on Thursday to present him a memorandum,” said a teacher.
Earlier, a condolence meeting was organized by students and teaches of the college. Among others, the college principal, Prof Farzana Yasmeen Butt, spoke on the occasion.
The students displayed placards demanding stern action against the careless bus driver and police personnel who allowed him to escape after the accident.
It was demanded that traffic signals should be installed, Zebra crossing should be set up, proper bus-stops should be constructed to provide protection to the students, and police should be deployed from 8am to 4pm to monitor the traffic and facilitate the students of the colleges in the vicinity of Apwa College.
One of the students demanded early compensations from the government and the transporters for the families of those killed and injured in the accident.
The principal of the college told Dawn that teaching at the college would remain suspended on Thursday, while normal classes would commence from Friday.
KARACHI, March 20: At the end of a condolence meeting and Quran Khawani on Wednesday, the enraged students and teachers of Apwa Government Girls’ College announced to stage a demonstration at the office of City Nazim on Thursday to register their protest against the indifferent attitudes of provincial and city governments.
