TDS Desk:

Jagannath University (JnU) students stage a hunger strike demanding a second campus handover, temporary housing arrangements, and housing allowances for students.

The strike began at the Shaheed Minar premises on the campus at 9am on Sunday.

For years, students have been protesting allegations of corruption in the construction of JnU’s Keraniganj second campus and the lack of progress in six years.

As part of this ongoing movement, 13 students have launched this mass hunger strike, vowing to continue until a clear roadmap for the second campus and temporary housing is provided.

The demands are as follows: Immediate signing of an agreement to hand over the second campus project to the army, swift commencement and completion of construction of the steel-based buildings at Bani Bhaban and Dr Habibur Rahman Hall in Old Dhaka, provision of housing allowances for 70% of students until proper housing is arranged.

AKM Rakib, a student from the 13th batch of the Botany department, said: “We’ve given the administration enough time—no more waiting! Our hunger strike will continue until the army takes over the second campus project and temporary housing is secured.”

Tawhidul Islam, a student from the 15th batch of the Philosophy department, said: “The demand for the second campus handover to the army and temporary housing is a matter of survival for JnU students. The administration has repeatedly used bureaucratic hurdles as an excuse to deceive us. That’s why, as a last resort, we’ve started this hunger strike. Inshallah, we will achieve our rightful demands at any cost.”

In response, JnU Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Rezaul Karim said: “The students’ demands are completely justified. We support their demands and have already started working on them. Progress is being made, but everything takes time. We have no opposition to their demands, and we hope the issues will be resolved very soon.”

Notably, in November last year, students staged a protest with the same three demands, including the handover of the second campus project to the army.

The Ministry of Education at that time assured that there were no barriers to the handover and promised its support.

However, two months have passed, and students claim that no visible progress has been made.