Protesting students, teachers and staffs of Jagannath University began hunger strike on the third day of their protest on Friday afternoon to press home their demand for accommodation facilities and the completion of their proposed new campus.
Protesters claimed that they had begun the hunger strike as they did not get any positive response in three days.
Some protesting students stayed in front of the Kakrail Mosque police barricade near the chief adviser鈥檚 official residence Jamuna in Dhaka for the whole night while several hundred students, teachers and university staffs travelled to the location by university buses and gradually joined the sit-in programme blocking the road for the third day.
A group of former students of the university joined the demonstration in the morning as JnU Teachers鈥� Association general secretary Rais Uddin announced a rally of former and current members of the JnU family on Thursday night.
JnU Teachers鈥� Association senior member Monzur Morshed Bhuiya formally announced the beginning of the hunger strike at 3:45pm.
Monzur said that protesters did not get any positive response from the government although three days have already passed by.
Students, teachers and staffs of the university will continue the hunger strike will continue until a clear message regarding the demands comes from the government.
Earlier on Thursday afternoon, the Jagannath University Teachers鈥� Association announced a complete shutdown of the university saying that teachers will not participate in any academic activities.
Earlier on Wednesday, several hundred JnU students and teachers held 鈥楲ong March to Jamuna鈥� demanding the introduction of 鈥榟ousing stipend鈥� for 70 per cent of the JnU students from the upcoming financial year and continue the financial support until securing permanent accommodation for all students, full approval of the proposed university budget for the FY 2025鈥�26 without any cuts, and an immediate approval in the next executive committee of the National Economic Council meeting of the university鈥檚 second campus project and its implementation on a priority basis.
At least 50 teachers and students of JnU were injured in police action on when the police intercepted the march and charged batons, fired sound grenades, lobbed teargas shells, and used water cannons to disperse the protesters at Kakrail Mosque police barricade near Jamuna, said the police, students and eyewitnesses.
Since then, students, teachers and staffs of the university are continuing the sit-in in front of the police barricade for the third day on Friday.
The construction works of JnU's second campus in Keraniganj was handed over to the Bangladesh Army in January this year amid student protests, including rallies, hunger strike and campus shutdown but there was visible progress in the construction works as the project was yet to be approved in the ECNEC, said the protesters.
Founded as Dhaka Brahma School in 1858, the educational institution was renamed several times and was transformed into Jagannath University in 2005.
