Police on Wednesday afternoon intercepted Jagannath University teachers’ and students’ march towards chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus’s official residence Jamuna in the capital pressing home for their three demands.
Police used water cannon, charged batons, sound grenades and teargas shells to disperse the protesters at Kakrial Mosque police barricade as the protesters went through several police barricades at Tatibazar, Gulistan, and Bangladesh Secretariat.
The escalation follows Tuesday’s visit by a delegation of Jagannath University teachers and students to the UGC. With no favorable outcome from the meeting, the student alliance ‘July Unity,’ comprising various political, cultural, and social groups on campus, announced the long march programme.
The protesters have three primary demands — introduction of housing stipends for 70 per cent of JnU students starting from the 2025–26 fiscal year, until permanent accommodation is secured; full approval of the proposed 2025–26 university budget without any reductions; and immediate approval and implementation of the university’s second campus project in the next ECNEC meeting under a priority scheme.
Following the police interception at about 12:00pm at Kakrial barricade, a large number of students and teachers started staging a sit-in programme in front of the barricade.
A large number of police, RAB, BGB and Army personnel were deployed in adjacent areas of Jamuna to maintain security.
