Media reports say both hit the pavement with their heads and are being examined
\n INDJIJA
\nHundreds of striking students marched through the Serbian countryside Friday as they took their anti-graft protest toward the northern city of Novi Sad, where they plan to blockade three bridges over the River Danube this weekend.
\nThe bridge blockade planned for Saturday will mark three months since a huge concrete construction at the railway station collapsed in Novi said on Nov. 1, leaving 15 people dead.
\nWhat started two months ago as a protest against suspected corruption in construction contracts has developed into the most serious challenge in years to the country\u2019s powerful populist leader, President Aleksandar Vucic.
\nMeanwhile in Belgrade, a driver rammed a car into a silent protest Friday, injuring two women who work as doctors at a nearby psychiatric institution. Media reports say both hit the pavement with their heads and are being examined.
\nThe incident, the third of its kind in weeks, happened in downtown Belgrade during 15 minutes of silence observed daily throughout Serbia at around noon when the canopy collapsed at the railway station in Novi Sad.
\nPro-government thugs have repeatedly attacked the protesters, many of them students, twice ramming cars into demonstrations. Two people were seriously injured in the previous attacks
\nAlong the way to Novi Sad on Friday, the students were greeted by cheering citizens who honked their car horns or came out of their homes to offer food and drinks.
\nWhen they reached the town of Indjija on Thursday, roughly halfway along their 80-kilometer (50-mile) route, the students were welcomed with fireworks and cheers from residents.
\nAlthough most of them spent the night out in the open in a soccer field, the freezing temperatures did not dampen their desire for major changes in the corruption-ridden Balkan state.
\nNevena Vecerinac, a student, said she hoped the protesters\u2019 demands that include the punishment of all those responsible for the rail station tragedy will be fulfilled.
\n\u201cWe will make it to Novi Sad,\u201d she said. \u201dYesterday\u2019s walk was easy. It\u2019s cold now, but we can make it. We all have the same goal.\u201d
\n\u201cWe need support from all people. With this energy and mood I hope we can do it, otherwise there will be no brighter future,\u201d said Luka Arsenovic, another student marcher.
\nMany in Serbia believe that the collapse of the overhang at the train station was essentially caused by government corruption in a large infrastructure project with Chinese state companies. Critics believe graft led to a sloppy job during the reconstruction of the Novi Sad train station, poor oversight and disrespect of existing safety regulations.
\nMonthslong demonstrations have already forced the resignation of Serbia\u2019s prime minister Milos Vucevic this week, along with various concessions from authorities which were ignored by the protesters who say that is not enough.
\nVucic and other officials have shifted from accusing the students of working with foreign powers to oust him, to offering concessions or issuing veiled threats.
\nThe strength and determination of the protesters have caught many by surprise in a country where hundreds of thousands of young people have emigrated, looking for opportunities elsewhere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Media reports say both hit the pavement with their heads and are being examined INDJIJA Hundreds of striking students marched through the Serbian countryside Friday as they took their anti-graft protest toward the northern city of Novi Sad, where they plan to blockade three bridges over the River Danube this weekend. The bridge blockade planned […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":458856,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-458839","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n