Mindless carnage in old town

One never gets tired of mayhem created by unruly students on this campus or that. Mostly such incidents are the result of some frivolous altercation that sparks off the mindless violence creating anarchy and resulting in untold suffering for people in the locality. The latest example of this uncivilised barbarism took place on November 21 when students of Kobi Nazrul College and Jagannath University clashed over what appears to be who would get precedence over whom in depositing certain fees in a bank.
The running battles between the two campuses embroiled hundreds of students from both institutions who spared no one or nothing in their way -- torching vehicles, beating up bystanders and stationed police officers. More than 50 people have sustained injuries and the whole area turned into a battle field with contenders vying for supremacy. As stated before, such behaviour is hardly uncommon in our country. While no one supports such violence and vandalism, there have been little by way of constructive measures taken to stem this sort of unruly conduct that has practically become a regular feature in academic institutions. The question is how it is possible for groups of students to get access to lethal weaponry in such a short span of time, unless of course these were hoarded at a convenient place -- to be utilised when needed. This obviously is a systemic problem, one that authorities should seriously look into if they are interested in keeping peace on the campus and protecting public interest.
Looking beyond mere pre-emptive measures, the attitude of violence that apparently has become ingrained in the general psyche is something that cannot be rectified through security measures. The general erosion of values in society is reflected in these actions. Unless we start imparting values and codes of conduct to newer generations, such abhorrent violence will continue.