Titumir students block railway tracks
Students of Titumir College have blocked the railway tracks at the Mahakhali railway crossing in the capital.
The blockade took place on Monday afternoon, around 3:45pm, when students marching from in front of the college reached the crossing. They are protesting in demand of Titumir College to be declared a university.
Around 3:15 PM today, the protesting students started marching from in front of Titumir College towards Amtali crossing in Mohakhali. Among them, three hunger strike students were seen being transported in wheelchairs. Over fifty students participated in the march.
After the blockade, student Ali Ahmed made an announcement through a loudspeaker, saying, "The Chief Advisor or the Education Advisor must come here and declare Titumir a university. Otherwise, we will not lift the blockade. This is our demand."
Ali Ahmed also added, "We apologise to the general public. The state has brought us here to stand."
The march reached the railway crossing area at around 3:45pm. The hunger strike students lay down on the tracks, and later the protesters blocked the railway lines. When a train from the Kamalapur direction approached, the students signaled it to stop using a red flag.
Earlier today, after 11:00pm, the students blocked the road in front of the college for the fifth consecutive day. They set up bamboo barricades on both sides of the road and held their position.
In addition to the DMP police, railway police officers were present at the Mohakhali railway crossing.
Ali Ahmed, a student involved in the protest, told Prothom Alo that 10 students are currently on hunger strike. Six of them are on an indefinite hunger strike, while the remaining four are participating in a mass hunger strike. Three of the hunger strike students are hospitalized.
This railway track blockade is part of the ongoing "Barasat Barricade to Dhaka North City" campaign, demanding the declaration of Titumir College as a university.
In response to the students’ movement, Education Advisor Wahiduddin Mahmud said on Sunday afternoon, “We will not make a decision based on demands with a set time frame. The demand for a university with a deadline is unreasonable.”
Rejecting the Education Advisor's comments, students blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway at Mohakhali at around 6:15pm on Sunday.
Last night, the students held a press conference and announced their plans for today. The press conference mentioned that, from 11:00am to 10:00pm today, students will carry out the ‘Barasat Barricade to Dhaka North City’ programme. This will include blockades in areas such as Mohakhali, Amtali, Railgate, and Gulshan Link Road.
They also made three demands, including the official recognition of ‘Titumir University’ and the release of the academic calendar for the university.
Last Thursday, some students of Titumir College began a protest by hunger strike and blocking the road in front of the college's main gate. The road was blocked from 11:30am to 4pm that day. The students continued their protests on Friday and Saturday. Yesterday, they again blocked the road for the fourth consecutive day.