JnU students continue blocking Kakrail intersection

The students of Jagannath university (JnU) are continuing their sit-in at Kakrail intersection in the capital on Thursday too, demanding justice for the police attack on them and to press home their three-point demand.

Several hundred students were at the sit-in programme, which has resulted in complete shutdown of vehicular movement through the Kakrail intersection, at the time of filing this report around 11:40 am.

Speaking to Prothom Alo around 9:00 am, Ramna police station sub-inspector (SI) Abdul Kadir, who has been posted at the intersection, said there were more than 50 protesters at the time.

He further said they had been there all night blocking the road. It has caused severe traffic congestion in the area.

However, the protesters are saying they won’t leave until their demands are met.

Earlier, on Wednesday, the students and teachers of Jagannath University started a “long march to Jamuna, the official residence of the chief adviser, around 11:45 am to press home their three-point demand.

As the march reached the Kakrail Mosque around 12:30 pm, police intervened. When the students tried to move towards Jamuna breaching the police barricade, the police charged batons on the protesters.

At one point, the police used tear shells, sound grenades and water cannons to disperse the students. The students moved back after that. The protesters said around 50 students and teachers were injured in the incident.

At around 2:00 pm, nearly 200 students gathered at the Kakrail intersection and started demonstrations stopping the vehicular movement through the intersection.

Later, around 4:00 pm, several hundred more students and teachers joined them, including JnU vice-chancellor professor Md Rezaul Karim and treasurer professor Sabina Sharmin.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s deputy commissioner in Ramna Zone Masud Alam said there is no option to allow the protesting students to go in front of Jamuna. Section 144 was imposed there.

Earlier that afternoon, a delegation of students and teachers had met with the University Grants Commission (UGC). However, as no satisfactory announcement came from the UGC regarding the three-point demand of the students, they declared the ‘Long March to Jamuna’ in protest.

The Jagannath University Teachers’ Association, JnU unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Chhatra Odhikar Parishad, Samajtantrik Chhatra Front, Islami Chhatra Shibir, Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad, Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, and leaders of various cultural organisations participated in the long march.

The three-point demands are:

1. A housing allowance must be allocated for 70 per cent of Jagannath University students from the 2025–26 fiscal year until proper housing arrangement is ensured;

2. The proposed full budget for Jagannath University for the FY2025–26 must be approved without any amendment.

3. The construction work of Jagannath University’s second campus must be implemented as a priority project after approving it in the next Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting.