BAU students block a railway for the second day in a row to press for six demands
NN ONLINE:
Students at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) extended their protest into a second day by blocking the Dhaka–Mymensingh rail route amid ongoing tensions over a directive to vacate residential halls and questions about the administration’s handling of a late-night altercation.
The rail blockade began Monday afternoon at Jabbar’s Mor, halting services on the Dhaka–Mymensingh line after students rejected the administration’s order to vacate dormitories following an outsider attack during a protest.
Students have issued a six-point charter of demands, including the withdrawal of the hall evacuation directive, restoration of full residential facilities, resignation of the proctorial body, disciplinary action against staff implicated in the attack, and a public apology from Vice-Chancellor AKM Fazlul Haque Bhuiyan.
University officials, citing security concerns, have indefinitely closed the campus and delayed the evacuation deadline amid ongoing unrest. The demonstrations started when students confined the vice-chancellor and over 200 faculty and staff inside a campus building to press for a new combined degree program in Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science. The situation deteriorened when a group of outsiders assaulted the protesters, leaving several people injured and drawing strong condemnation.