Play store
Students of Jahangirnagar University’s AFM Kamal Uddin Hall locked the university’s new administrative building on Sunday, demanding renovation of their residence, restoration of its playground and improvements to other facilities.
The students began their sit-in around 11:30am on Sunday (6 September), putting forward four demands.
Their demands include a complete renovation of the hall’s fourth-floor roof and installation of tiles on the walls of 19 rooms adjacent to the washrooms.
They also called for construction of an internal access road through the middle of the hall area, immediate renovation of the playground and restoration of the barbed-wire security fencing around the hall.
The students said the university administration had repeatedly promised to address the hall’s longstanding infrastructure problems but had taken no effective action.
They said the hall’s only playground was damaged during the expansion of the university’s central library. Although the administration had promised to restore the field after the construction work, it has yet to be made suitable for playing, they claimed.
The students also alleged that rainwater leaks into rooms on the fourth floor because of the building’s poor condition, while plaster has fallen from walls in rooms beside the washrooms.
Compared with other residential halls that have modern facilities and playgrounds, AFM Kamal Uddin Hall still lacks essential infrastructure, they said.
Abrar Hossain, general secretary of the hall union, said students had been raising the issues with the administration in writing and verbally for about a year, including since before the hall union was formed.
“Every time, the implementation of our demands has been delayed for unexplained reasons,” he said.
He said the students had given the vice-chancellor, two pro-vice-chancellors and the treasurer until 3 September to take action after submitting a deadline on 27 August.
“As there was no visible progress by the deadline, we were forced to launch the blockade with general students,” Abrar said.
The residential students said they would continue their sit-in and blockade until the administration takes concrete steps to implement their demands, including starting work to renovate the playground.
Attempts to contact JU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan for comment were unsuccessful.