JnU authorities seek land of old Dhaka jail to build dorms

Authorities of the university on Monday made the appeal to the government at its academic council meeting presided over by Vice-Chancellor Dr Mizanur Rahman, said a press release.

A multi-storied dormitory, a cultural centre, a research centre and a museum would be constructed at the site of jail and these structures would be named after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and four national leaders – Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, M Mansur Ali and AHM Qamaruzzaman, if the land is allotted to the university, said the release.

The university academic council also asked students to stop such practice that would hamper regular activities of the university, country's lone non-residential public university.

Meanwhile, boycotting classes and examinations, students of the university continued their demonstrations, demanding construction of halls at the site.

Over 1,000 students of the JnU congregated in front of the university's Shaheed Minar around 9am.

They later brought out a procession holding different banners, festoons and chanting slogans “Give us hall or kill us. The procession paraded different main points of the campus.

After the procession, the agitators locked the main gate of the university and staged a sit-in programme there for over three hours.

Mahima Tuku, a third year student of geography department, said they had to suffer a lot for want of residential halls.

She also added they were now facing residential problems more than previous time due to the militancy and terrorism issues.

She said: “No one want to make bachelors their tenants, then where we will reside?”

The protesting students also threatened to go on tougher movement if the university authorities did not meet up their demand immediately.

Proctor of JnU Dr Noor Mohammad said it was a logical movement.

“The university authorities are concerned about the accommodation crisis of students. That’s why we have sent a letter to Home Ministry to get the empty place of former central jail, which has been shifted to Keraniganj recently.

He also said the university authorities were keeping close watch on students' movement so that no one can create nuisance taking the advantage of students' movement.

Currently, about 20,000 students were studying at the university. The educational institution was transformed into a university in 2005 through pass of a bill named Jagannath University Act in the national parliament.

Students of the university often observe several kinds of programme such as procession and rally demanding measures to ease their accommodation crisis.

In 2014, students of the university staged demonstration on the campus for several days, demanding measures to recover dormitories of the university grabbed by influential quarters.