SAU students vandalise fair structures over Secretariat relocation plan

Students of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU) have been protesting for several days against a move to relocate the Secretariat to the old trade fair ground in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, the capital.

As part of their protest, students vandalised structures under construction for two fairs at the venue on Wednesday morning. University authorities later intervened and brought the students back to campus.

Police and people involved in organising the fairs said two events were being organised side by side at the old trade fair ground. Preparations were underway for a month-long event titled the Asia International Trade Fair. Another fair, called the Youth Fair, was also being organised nearby for a week. Gates and various stalls were being constructed at the venue for the two events.

People involved in the fair arrangements alleged that 70 to 80 SAU students went to the site on Wednesday morning and vandalised the structures. They carried out the destruction under a banner reading, “We want our research field back, not the Secretariat.”

A police team was present at the scene but failed to stop the students, they said. The organisers alleged that the incident caused financial losses and that construction materials were also taken away.

A visit to the site around noon found that part of the corrugated metal fencing erected for the fairs had been demolished. Several wooden structures intended for stalls lay on the ground, while workers involved in building the stalls were dismantling them.

Yusuf Sardar, who was involved in constructing stalls for the Youth Fair, told Prothom Alo that they were building the stalls with government permission. If anyone had objections to using the fairground, they should take the matter up with the government, he said.

“Why were the stalls vandalised? What have we done wrong?” he asked.

He also alleged that the students had taken away tools and equipment used to construct the stalls after carrying out the vandalism.

A person involved in setting up stalls for the Asia International Trade Fair, who requested anonymity, said the main entrance to their fair had been vandalised. More than 100 students had arrived, damaged the structures and then left, he alleged. The incident had caused losses amounting to several lakh taka, he added.

Asked about the vandalism, SAU acting proctor Professor Tajul Islam told Prothom Alo that students had been protesting for several days against the plan to relocate the Secretariat to the old trade fair ground.

“The administration will take initiatives to address their demands. We will take steps to ensure that incidents such as vandalism do not happen again,” he said.

The students maintain that the old trade fair ground belongs to their university and that they will not allow the Secretariat to be built there. They are demanding that the ground be returned to the university for research purposes.

On Tuesday, soil testing was underway at the fairground as part of preparations for the proposed Secretariat relocation. At noon, university students marched to the site and took soil-testing equipment and two vehicles to their campus.

They also boycotted classes and examinations that day. The students have formed a steering committee to press their demand for the return of the ground.