Chattogram Bureau :
Student protesters have blocked the shuttle train at Chattogram University in support of the Dhaka University protests demanding reforms to the quotas for civil service jobs.
The protesters blocked the shuttle train at the city’s Sholsahar Station around 10:30am yesterday .
Nearly 200 to 250 swarmed the station, most of them CU students. They successfully blocked the shuttle train, which was then 22km away from the station.
Two shuttle trains bound for CU had left the city’s Botthali station at 7:30am and 8:30am, but few students had been on board.
The protesters continued occupying the Sholsahar Station platform until 1:30pm.
Though there was a police presence in the area, they did not clash with the protesters.
Chief protest convener Md Arju told bdnews24.com that the peaceful protesters stood in solidarity with the students at Dhaka University and warned that more intense protests would occur if their demands were not met.
Protesting students also boycotted class on Monday.
A protest march went to the university’s Shaheed Minar and headed for the campus’s Zero Point before being turned back by police.
CU Assistant Proctor Liton Mitra told bdnews24.com that they had heard of the obstruction to the shuttle train.
“We are taking steps,” he said. “We will take the initiative to discuss the situation with students and reach a peaceful solution. Classes and exams are continuing according to the regular schedule.”
But a previously scheduled Department of Bangla exam was cancelled due to the ‘absence of students’, he said.
Students from Chittagong’s private Premier University also engaged in protests in support of the Dhaka University students yesterday.
