JnU students' demo to continue
The authorities announce to construct one hall
Several hundred students of Jagannath University (JnU) yesterday demonstrated on the Central Shaheed Minar premises, demanding dormitories, and vowed to continue their agitation while the university authorities announced to start construction of a new resident hall for them in January 2017.
They also protested the assaults allegedly carried out by Bangladesh Chattra League men on the demonstrating students and demanded exemplary punishment.
The students, demonstrating since the beginning of this month, further demanded allocation of the recently evacuated central jail land in the old part of the capital. Students also boycotted classes and exams yesterday and announced to do the same and hold a sit-in in front of Jatiya Press Club tomorrow.
Rashedul Islam, a student of Bangla final year, announced the programme.
The students gathered near the Shaheed Minar around 10:00am and held demonstrations for about half an hour.
Later, they shifted the gathering several yards off the altar and continued their demonstration while chanting slogans for over two hours. “[We] Want halls,” they kept on chanting.
The students sought the prime minister's intervention regarding the issue.
Razia Sultana, a Bangla department student, said dormitories were essential to continue their study. “We want halls. Where the government will establish those is not our concern,” she said.
Tanvir Mehedi, a student of social science department, said it is the students' right to have dormitories.
The students also took an oath to continue their agitation.
The students of JnU, an institution of 21,000 students, have been boycotting classes and exams and blocking different city roads since August 1.
Many students have been living at rented houses and messes as the authorities failed to manage accommodations for them, they said.
On Monday and Sunday, BCL activists of JnU allegedly swooped on the agitating students, which Shariful Islam, the JnU unit president of BCL, refuted.
Our DU correspondent reports: The construction work for a new residential hall for JnU is going to start in January 2017 at Keraniganj of old Dhaka.
Vice-Chancellor Mijanur Rahman confirmed it to The Daily Star yesterday. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed with one Thermax Group after Eid-ul-Azha who would finance the the construction of the dorm with an accomodation capacity of 1,000 students on JnU's own land, said a press release. "We welcome the decision as it is a positive sign, but for the sake of the 21,000 students, we will continue our demo," said Ruhul Amin, a third-year student of economics department.