It's official. From Wednesday, all students will get a 50% discount on bus fares in the Dhaka metropolitan area. The announcement by the Dhaka Road Transport Owners Association on Tuesday comes in the wake of mass student protests over the past week. “However, the reduced fares will only be allowed in the Dhaka metropolitan area as the students here have demanded it,” Khandaker Enayet Ullah, the secretary of the Association, told the media. "The students will have to produce their institutional ID cards to avail the concessional fares." Also read: Private bus owners to allow half fares for students: Obaidul Quader However, the discounted fares for students will be allowed only from 7am to 8 pm and it will not be applicable on government holidays, weekly holidays and other holidays of educational institutions, said Khandaker. On Friday, the Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had asked them to reduce fares by 50% in state-run buses. On November 3, the government raised the prices of diesel and kerosene by Tk 15 per litre, prompting the transporters to enforce an indefinite strike in the country on November 7 demanding a hike in bus fares.

A Dhaka court on Sunday brought forward to August 31 the date to hear a plea seeking bail for film actress Pori Moni held in jail in a narcotics case. Dhaka Metropolitan Session Judge KM Imrul Kayes announced the new date following an order of the High Court, said Additional Public Prosecutor Tapash Kumar Pal. On august 22, Pori Moni’s lawyer submitted the bail petition and the court set September 13 to hold a hearing, he said. Later, her lawyer Mozibur Rahman went to the High Court challenging  the lower court’s decision. He also sought interim bail for the actress in the petition.