Buet crisis: Quick fixes to deeper malaise

So, the made-easy strategy is working in resolving the Buet crisis too. 

Political activities on Buet campus were banned again. All the accused of Buet student Abrar killing were arrested. 

Chhatra League expelled the perpetrators from their organisation. The Buet authorities expelled them too, though temporarily.

There are more. The home minister assured agitating students that the police will press charges soon against the accused. The law minister assured them of ensuring speedy trial of the murder case. 

On the face of it, the actions indicate the authorities' zero tolerance policy towards crimes. 

But the actions are reactive. The firestorm protests triggered after the gruesome murder of Abrar by a group of Chhatra League leaders forced the authorities to take all these actions. 

Torture of general students by Chhatra League leaders and activists in all the dormitories of Buet had been an open secret for long. 

But the Buet authorities kept their eyes closed, as is the case in other public universities. 

The present actions may bring temporarily relief to Buet students, without any relief to their fellow students in other universities. 

And a long lasting impact still remains uncertain in the current political culture.   

Take Buet student Sony murder. 

Sabequn Nahar Sony, a second-year student, was killed in 2002 during a factional clash of Chhatra Dal, student wing of the then ruling BNP, following a dispute over construction tenders.

The Sony killing triggered outcry. The government came up with made-easy solutions. Fifteen leaders and activists of Buet Chhatra Dal were arrested by the law enforcers. The Buet authorities imposed a ban on student politics. 

The case was sent to speedy trial tribunal for quick disposal. Next year, the court sentenced two Chhatra Dal leaders to death and five others to life imprisonment. 

The result did not last long. The ban on politics was lifted in 2009. And this time around, it had shelter from the Buet administration.

Since then, Chhatra League has gradually established supremacy over the Buet campus. They appeared unchallenged and continued wrongdoings like drug peddling, tender manipulation, and torturing students in the halls. 

The brutal murder of Abrar is an outcome of the hooliganism of Buet Chhatra League.    

So, it is uncertain whether the new made-easy solution to the Buet crisis, coming after Abrar murder, will have any long lasting impact.    

The made-easy solution to address the governance crisis is nothing new in our political culture. 

Take the road safety movement. 

One year ago, school students took to the streets across the country protesting the death of two students in a road crash resulting from a race by two buses. They took control of the streets, particularly in the capital, paralyzing the city traffic. 

Alongside the demand for arresting the owner and drivers of the buses, they placed a set of demands for road safety. 

In face of stormy protests, owner and drivers of the buses were arrested in a quick drive by the law enforcers. The road transport authority cancelled the route permit of the buses under Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan. 

In a quick move, the cabinet cleared the way for making a new road safety law, proposing a maximum punishment of five years' imprisonment for causing death to a person through reckless driving. 

The move to make the new law was an old issue. The cabinet approved the proposals for the law in early 2017. But it remained shelved at the law ministry for more than a year amid opposition of transport owners and workers to some of its provisions. The traffic police men were seen hyperactive.  

But just one year down the line, the situation went back to square one. 

In a few months, the Jabale Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan took on a new name and started plying the streets. 

The government refrains from enforcing the road safety law passed a year ago due to strong opposition by transport owners and workers' leaders. The traffic system returned to its previous state. The reckless bus drivers took control of the city streets again. 

Two months ago, BIWTA official Krishna Roy Chowdhury lost one of her legs when a bus went out of control and ploughed through a footpath in the Bangla Motor area. Only after the accident did police find out that the driver did not have license to drive the bus. 

So, be it unruly Chhatra League or Jubo League men or the city roads, lack of proper governance is the main culprit behind the worsening situation which has gradually turned into a monster. 

Necessary reforms, proactive actions and enforcement of laws uniformly are necessary to reduce the deficiency in governance. But such measures remain absent though preference for made-easy solutions is increasing.

Therefore, the crucial question is: will actions against some Buet Chhatra League leaders and casino kingpins and tender manipulator Jubo League leaders be able to kill the monster which produced them?