A section of teachers and employees of Jahangirnagar University brought out a human chain on Monday morning in support of Vice Chancellor Prof Farzana Islam and her family members.
Under the banner of “Bangabandhu Shikkhok Parishad,” teachers, officials, and employees formed the human chain inside the university's Shaheed Minar premises around 10:30am.
Terming the allegation of corruption and irregularities in development projects false and fabricated, the speakers alleged that a certain group was fuelling the controversy for their own benefit and trying to halt the development of JU in the name of protest.
Meanwhile, another group, under the banner “Jahangirnagar Against Corruption,” who has been demonstrating against the VC on the campus since August 25, called on a day-long blockade on Tuesday.
Reiterating their demands of a planned development and a judicial probe into the allegations of corruption and irregularities centring the mega project, worth Tk1,445 crore, the group brought out a procession on the campus around 1pm on Monday.
The protesters alleged that the VC played the role of mediator in dividing Tk2 crore among three factions of Bangladesh Chhatra League’s JU unit in an effort to quell a dispute among them.
Defending Prof Farzana Islam during their demonstration, Ajit Kumar Majumdar, president of Jahangirnagar University Teachers’ Association, urged her opposers not to stand against the development activities.
“The allegations against the VC lacks proof and are not yet verified by the authority. So until it has proved, we ask the protesters to be rational,” he added.
In response of the teacher’s remarks, Ashiqur Rahman, president of JU Cultural Association, said: “When we asked for a reformation of the university's faulty administration, they accused us of being anti-development in front of the common students.
“But they could not prove their innocence either. So the students’ support is with us, and we demand explanation of the VC's boundless corruption,” he added.
Students and teachers of JU, renowned for its forestry, have been protesting a government-approved Tk1,445 crore, which involves the construction of 23 new buildings, for which 1,150 trees need to be felled.
But an outrage broke out on August 25, when news spread that JU VC Prof Farzana Islam was involved in corruption and distributed around Tk2 crore among three factions of Chhatra League’s JU unit from the project fund.
