Police foiled a long march by Jagannath University students in Dhaka on Wednesday, as they advanced towards the Chief Adviser’s official residence, demanding housing scholarships, full budget approval, and a second campus for the university.
Witnesses said several hundred students began their march from the university campus around 12:30 pm and proceeded through Tatibazar, Gulistan, Zero Point, and Matshya Bhaban areas.
Police blocked the procession near Kakrail Mosque by setting up a barricade. When protesters tried to break through, a brief scuffle broke out, prompting officers to charge batons, fire tear gas and sound grenades, and deploy water cannons to disperse the crowd.
Protesters later regrouped at the Matshya Bhaban intersection before moving to Shahbagh.
At least 11 people, including teachers, were reportedly injured in the police action. One of them, a teacher identified as Nasir Uddin, was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
The students’ demands include the provision of 70 housing scholarships from the 2025–26 fiscal year until permanent housing is arranged, full approval of the proposed university budget without cuts, and approval of a second JnU campus as a priority project in the next ECNEC meeting.
Source: UNB, Correspondent
Leave a Reply