Staff Reporter:

At least 18 students of Rabindra University fell ill on Sunday while observing a hunger strike demanding approval of the Development Project Proposal (DPP) for the university campus in the upcoming Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting.

Md Shah Ali, public relations officer (PRO) of Rabindra University, said a group of students began their hunger strike around 11:00am on Saturday, ahead of on Sunday s ECNEC meeting.

Despite repeated requests from the university authorities to withdraw the protest, the students continued their strike. Many began falling sick from last night, the PRO said.

Among them, Md Raihan of the sociology department became critically ill and was taken to hospital last night.

He later returned to campus and rejoined the hunger strike. The university medical team is providing support to the protesters, he added.

According to sources, a Tk 519 crore project proposal for Rabindra University has been placed on the ECNEC agenda.

Speaking to The Daily Sky, agitating students said they would not end their protest until the DPP is approved at the ECNEC meeting.

Earlier, on July 26, students boycotted the university’s founding anniversary programme as part of their three-week-long demonstration demanding approval and implementation of the DPP for the permanent campus.