Road in front of Titumir College blocked for the fifth consecutive day

Students of Titumir College have blocked the road in front of the college. The photo was taken from in front of the college at around 12:30pm on Monday.Sazid Hossain

The students have blocked the road in front of Titumir College demanding a declaration of the college as a university. As a result, traffic has been halted.

The blockade started around 12:20pm today, Monday. The students took position putting up bamboo barricades on both sides of the road to form the blockade.

The students blocked the road in front of Titumir College for the fifth consecutive day.

During today’s protest, a student was making an announcement through a loudspeaker.

He said that they are currently blocking the road in front of the college and will soon begin their previously announced programme.

He clarified that ambulances and other emergency vehicles will be allowed to pass, but no other vehicles will be allowed through.

Ali Ahmed, a student involved in the protest, told Prothom Alo that 10 students are on hunger strike as part of the protest. Six are on an indefinite hunger strike, while four are participating in a mass hunger strike. Among them, three students are currently hospitalised.

Yesterday, Sunday afternoon, education advisor Wahiduddin Mahmud said, "We will not make a decision based on demands with a set time frame. The demand for the university status with a time limit is unreasonable."

Rejecting the education advisor’s comments, the students blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway at Mohakhali at around 6:15 PM yesterday.

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.