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Students of Government Titumir College have announced plans to blockade roads and railway lines across the Dhaka North City Corporation area starting Saturday afternoon if their demand for state recognition of an independent university is not met, reports bdnews24.com
They have named their movement “Barasat Barricade to Dhaka North”.
However, the students have stated that they would pause the demonstration for a few hours on Sunday morning to facilitate the observance of the Biswa Ijtema, one of the largest gatherings of Muslim devotees.
The announcement came late Friday night as students continued their blockade programme on the Mohakhali-Gulshan road in front of the college. Female students of Titumir College also joined the rally in solidarity.
Aminul Islam, a third-year mathematics student and leader of "Titumir Oikyo," a platform advocating for the elevation of Titumir College to a university, warned that students would blockade Dhaka North City Corporation if the institution did not receive state recognition by 4pm on Saturday.
"Roads and railway lines will fall under this," he told bdnews24.com.
Stating that the blockade would be temporarily eased from 6am to 11am on Sunday for Biswa Ijtema, Aminul said: “The programme will continue until the demands are met.”
Mehedi Hasan, a fourth-year history student at Titumir College, said: “Seven students have fallen ill during the mass hunger strike. One has been taken to Dhaka Medical College in a serious condition.”
On Friday, they blocked the road in front of the college's main gate for the second consecutive day at around 2:30pm, continuing their campaign for recognition.
Earlier, on Thursday, the students had blocked the same stretch of road from noon until dawn, sparking severe traffic congestion in the surrounding areas. The disruptions created significant hardship for thousands of commuters.
Around 9pm on Thursday, Md Nuruzzaman, joint secretary of the education ministry, engaged with the protesters gathered in front of Titumir College’s main gate.
Despite his assurances that their demands would be presented to senior government officials, the students remained resolute in their stance. Although they vacated the road early Friday morning, some continued their hunger strike.
Following Jummah prayers on Friday, the students took out a procession to Amtoli in Mohakhali, where they blocked the road once again. However, the impact on traffic was minimal, as it was a holiday, resulting in less disruption in the surrounding areas.
Student are waging the movement with seven key demands. under the umbrella of “Titumir Oikyo”.
These include publishing an academic calendar with state recognition, the formation of a “university administration” to conduct admissions for the 2024-25 sessions, and immediate cover for the housing costs of all students or ensuring housing arrangements for all of them.
The students on a hunger strike are also demanding the addition of international-standard Law and Journalism subjects from the 2024-25 academic session, appointment of qualified teachers with PhDs to conduct academic activities, limiting the number of seats to improve the quality of education, and ensuring land and financial allocations for building a research laboratory of international standards.
Last Monday night, student protesters gave the authorities 48 hours to turn college into a university and form an administrative structure following the transition.
They threatened to otherwise block roads and railways in Mohakhali again from Thursday.
They also announced plans to enforce a “Shut Down Titumir” programme by halting the college’s classes and exams from Tuesday morning until the state’s recognition of the university.
After months of protests and sit-ins demanding an independent university, the students hoisted a banner reading "Titumir University" at the main gate of the educational institution on Jan 7.
Earlier, the education ministry formed a five-strong committee to examine the feasibility of transforming the college into a university on Dec 3, 2024.
However, the students allege that the committee was not functioning “properly”.