Titumir College students resume protests blocking road

The students of Government Titumir College resumed their demonstrations blocking the road in the capital’s Mohakhali area on Monday evening.

They blocked the road in front of the college in the area around 6:30 pm, around two hours after lifting the block they enforced earlier in the day.

The students said they brought out a procession from the college campus and blocked the road and railway tracks in the Mohakhali level crossing area around 11:30 am today, Monday, demanding that the College be made a university.

They lifted the road block when a 12-member delegation went to the secretariat for discussion around 4:00 pm.

Members of the delegation, however, announced a hunger strike in front of the secretariat unto death after the discussion. When the news spread in the campus, other students of the college took to the streets and blocked the road in Mohakhali around 6:30 pm.

Speaking to Prothom Alo around 7:00 pm, Shafayet Shafiq, a student of political science department of the Government Titumir College, said that their representatives had a discussion with two advisers of the interim government, Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud. But no decision was made there.

He further said the advisers told the delegation that the government’s decision regarding the matter would be announced in a statement. Now the students are in the dark as to what decision the government has made until it is announced through a statement. In this context, they blocked the road demanding that the statement be issued soon. The 12 members of the delegation have also started their hunger strike in front of the secretariat to press home the same demand.

Banani police station inspector (investigation) Mehedi told Prothom Alo around 7:00 pm that he started for the scene after receiving the news that the students started demonstrations again.

Earlier in the day, some 1,500-2000 students of Government Titumir College brought out a procession to press home the same demand.

Parading through the Amtali intersection, the procession stopped at Mohakhali level crossing area around 11:30 am, leading to a complete halt of traffic movement on both sides of the road from Mohakhali to Shahjalal International Airport and the people’s sufferings.

Around 4:00 pm, the demonstrating students marched in a procession towards the college campus.

But they took to the streets once again after 6:30 pm.