RU bus crisis drags on

Though the number of students at Rajshahi University has increased over the years, the buses carrying them to and from the campus have not increased, causing untold sufferings to the students, especially the female ones. 

There are some 33,874 students currently enrolled in the university; of them, 22,290 are male and 11,584 female students, according to the university's annual report of 2015-16, said a source in the university administration.

Of the total, only 8,130 students -- 5,061 males and 3,069 females -- reside in 17 different student dormitories, the source said quoting the report.

A large number of students, who live outside the campus, have to depend on the university buses.

For this large group of students, and also teachers and employees, the university has only 39 buses.

Of them, 28 currently ply 16 different routes across Rajshahi city, said Md Ahsan Habib, a section officer of RU transport office. The other buses are out of order, he said.

Female students said the number of buses allocated for them is just six. 

On February 19, it was seen that around 70 female students were standing in a crowd waiting for a bus. When the bus arrived, the lucky ones got into it whereas the remaining 25 to 30 of them could not, as there was no space left.

Jayashree Rani Sarker, a third-year student of mass communication and journalism department, who also could not get into the bus, said they have to deal with this kind of situation almost every day as the number of buses is not sufficient.

She urged the university authorities to allocate more buses for them.

Maksuda Khatun, a student of information science and library management department, said she has to travel to and from campus boarding jam-packed buses every day, which takes toll on her -- physically and mentally. 

"It seems that the university administration does not count us as human beings,” she ventilated her frustration. The RU authorities are indifferent to their sufferings, she added. 

According to transport office sources, for carrying female students only, three double-decker buses ply the routes of Saheb Bazar, New Market, and C&B each. 

The buses carry over 2,000 female students per day, said the sources, which are still not adequate for a large number of female students residing in the areas.  

Meanwhile, Manik Hossain, another student, who comes to the campus from the city's Lakshmipur area, said there is only one bus on his route. If the university provides one more bus on this route, their sufferings will slightly be reduced. 

Prof Mainul Haque, administrator of the university transport office, said it is true that the number of buses has not increased in proportion to the students' number.

"But recently the university has planned to buy two new buses, which can be a step towards a solution to this problem,” he added.

Approached, Pro Vice Chancellor Prof Sarwar Jahan Chowdhury said they will take necessary steps in this regard after having a discussion with the university transport office.