Students staged a railway blockade on the Dhaka to northern districts' route on Wednesday to demand the swift approval and full implementation of the development project proposal (DPP) for the permanent campus of Rabindra University.
The protest began at 9am at the Ullapara Railway Station in Sirajganj.
Eight trains, including one carrying oil, were stranded on both sides of the blockade.
The protesting students said that a previous demonstration and highway blockade had been held at Hatikumrul Golchattar on Sunday, demanding the rapid approval of the DPP for the permanent campus.
At that time, the government had been given 48 hours to respond, but no positive feedback was received, prompting the railway blockade at Ullapara Station on Wednesday.
Students said it was regrettable that the public university’s campus had not been constructed even after eight years.
They added that academic activities are being conducted under severe difficulties for students, faculty and staff, which is unsustainable.
They declared that they would not leave until the campus construction was fully implemented.
At 2:30pm on Wednesday, Farid Ahmed, General Manager of Western Railway, said that rail communication between the capital and the western region remained suspended due to the ongoing blockade.
The stranded trains included Dhumketu, Silk City, Chilahati, Rangpur, Ekota, one oil-laden carriage at Chatmohor, Kurigram and Chitra Express.
He said that, so far, the situation had not reached a level of schedule disruption.
If the blockade ended within an hour, delays for subsequent trains could be partially mitigated.
However, prolonged obstruction would cause significant disruption.
Earlier, as part of ongoing protests for the DPP approval, students had blocked the Dhaka–Pabna highway on Monday to hold a freshman welcoming ceremony.
Though the ceremony was scheduled at the temporary campus auditorium, limited seating prompted students to welcome new students on the highway in protest.
On Tuesday, a seminar was held on the highway at Buri Potazia regarding the justification for establishing Rabindra University.
Faculty, students and administrative staff participated in the session, which began at 10:30am.
Notably, even nine years after its establishment, the DPP for Rabindra University’s permanent campus has not been approved.
Students have continuously protested over the delay, with faculty, students and staff expressing solidarity.
From January 19 to 30, students immobilized highways during consecutive protest activities, after which government assurances led to a temporary suspension of protests.
With no DPP approval six months later, protests resumed during the observance of Rabindra University Day on July 26 through a boycott of the event.