SAU students block road protesting Secretariat relocation

Students of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU) blocked Begum Rokeya Sarani in front of the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Agargaon, Dhaka, on Thursday to protest the proposed relocation of the Bangladesh Secretariat to the former International Trade Fair ground in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.

Several hundred students blocked the road around 11:45am after gathering on the university campus from 10:00am. They chanted slogans, including “We will not accept the relocation of the Secretariat” and “No compromise, only struggle”.

The students withdrew the blockade and returned to the campus following discussions with police, said Mohammad Fazlul Karim, additional deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Tejgaon Division.

Professor Mohammad Tajul Islam, the university’s acting proctor, said the students had taken to the streets to press home their demands. He added that they had assured the university authorities they would not engage in violence or vandalism.

The students have been protesting for several days against the proposed relocation. On October 28, two structures under construction at the former trade fair site were vandalised. University authorities later intervened and brought the students back to the campus.

Meanwhile, a case was filed on Wednesday over the vandalism of the entrance gate and other structures of the international trade fair at the old research field of SAU.

Officer-in-Charge of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station Monirul Islam confirmed the filing of the case on Thursday, saying it was under investigation. Legal action would be taken against those involved as soon as possible, he added.