Protesting students will hold a symbolic funeral procession in Dhaka's Shahbagh and form human chains across the country tomorrow demanding safe roads.

State University student Inzamul Haque Ramim made the announcement while speaking on behalf of the protesters during their demonstration on Rampura Bridge this morning.

Photo: Palash Khan

"We will bring out a symbolic procession carrying corpses from Shahbag tomorrow to press home our nine-point demands," Inzamul said.

Meanwhile, students across the country will carry out peaceful human chain programmes at their convenience, he added.

The protesters also threatened to wage stronger movement across the country if students' demands are not met by December 10, he added.

Photo: Palash Khan

Besides, the students of multiple educational institutions took position on the sidewalk near Rampura Bridge around 11am and showed red cards in protest of "irregularities and corruption" on the roads.

On behalf of the agitating students, Sohagi Samia, a student of Khilgaon Model College, said, "We are showing red cards today in protest of various corruptions and mismanagement in our road sector in the same way referees show red cards when someone commits a foul in a football match."

Their 11-point demand raised issues of alleged corruption, looting and mismanagement on the roads, she said.

Strict actions should be taken against the institutions using unfit and unlicensed vehicles and drivers, she said, adding that "We also have to take effective measures against bribery and corruption of traffic police."

In order to stop reckless competition between buses on the highways, rule of single bus on one route needs to be implemented.

Photo: Palash Khan

Employers need to make sure of drivers' employment papers and identity cards. Instead of providing buses on contract basis, the entire transport system has to be streamlined on ticket and counter basis, she added.

The working hour of a driver must not be more than six hours in a row, she said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said today that political parties have incited the students' safe roads movement.

Earlier, Information Minister Hasan Mahmud had said that a section was trying to create chaos in the country by relying on the student movement.

About this, the protesting students said that the government wants to shame the logical movement for safe roads by slapping political badges on it.

Moreover, for the past few days, a group has been claiming on social media that student organiser Sohagi Samia is a 30-year-old woman. According to their claims, she is not a student, but a member of a political party and that she is inciting the movement for political gain.

Responding to this, Sohagi said that she is not a 30-year-old woman. She is a class XII student of humanities department of Khilgaon Model College and an HSC examinee, she said.

She also showed all her academic documents to the journalists.