JnU Correspondent :
The students of Jagannath University (JnU) observed strike on the campus on Thursday locking main entrance of the university and boycotting classes and examinations to press home their demands, including construction of residential halls in the abandoned area of the Dhaka Central Jail in Old Dhaka. The students again pledged to hold demonstration next Sunday if their demands were not met by that time. The demonstrators sought Prime Minister’s intervention in this regard. No department was seen conducting any examination and most of the classrooms were found empty since morning. “We observed strike on the campus Thursday and will again hold demonstration on Sunday. It will continue until our demands are met”, Shafiqul Islam, a spokesman of the agitated students, said.
If Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina does not heed to solve our problems by Sunday, we will go to her office to address our demands on Monday, he said.
According to eyewitnesses, several thousand students of the university joined rally in front of the main entrance of the campus ignoring inclement weather in the morning. As per their previous decision, they locked the main gate and started demonstration boycotting classes and examinations around 8am. That is why, no university vehicles could enter the campus. The agitated students created barricade on the street from Roy Saheb Bazar intersection to Banglabazar intersection halting traffic movement for about four hours.
Taking position on the road, they brought out a procession and staged a sit-in programme holding different banners, fastoons and chanting slogans like “We want hall”, “Hall is our right”. The procession paraded the Johnson Road and the Bahadur Shah Park area. Thus, the old part of the Dhaka city stoodstill due to lack of vehicles movement from 8am to 12pm.
“Since the establishment of the university 11 years ago, we have been suffering severely for want of residential halls. It is not comprehensible there shall be a varsity without hall for students. Since it is a burning issue, we cannot retreat from our programme”, said Tasnim Moon, a second year honours student of Social Science Department. The demonstrators accused the university authority of hindering their movement.
JnU Proctor Dr Noor Mohammad said, “Along with peaceful movement, students should attend the classes and examinations. We are trying to solve their problems. We have already sent letter to the ministry to get the abandoned place of the Central Jail for building residential halls.”
Meanwhile, JnU VC Professor Dr Mijanur Rahman said, “If the government gives us the empty land of the jail, we will build student’s residential halls after four national leaders, and a scientific research centre after Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman”.
The JnU students have been demonstrating since August 1 for allotment of lands on the vacate premises of Central Jail in Old Dhaka for residential halls.
