Association of traders in Old Dhaka expressed solidarity with teachers and students of Jagannath University (JnU) yesterday as the latter continued their ongoing demonstration by holding procession and protest rally on the campus demanding recovery of illegally grabbed dormitories.
The association held a press briefing outside Islampur Jahangir Alam Tower around 11:00am and urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to take steps in order to resolve this crisis soon.
Addressing the briefing, speakers said although the ongoing protest was legal, they were passing days in fear. They said some wholesalers were also reluctant to come to Old Dhaka to buy or sell goods for fear of finding themselves in any untoward situation.
Asked about allegations that some traders had also occupied properties illegally, Mohammad Jahangir Alam, convener of the association, said legal actions could be taken if any establishment had been built on the property of the university.
“We should extend our help in this regard,” he said.
Executive members of nearly 16 business associations of Old Dhaka, including Islampur Clothing Traders’ Association, Tantibazar Goldsmith Association and Clock Traders’ association, attended the briefing among others.
Earlier in the day around 10:00am, JnU students brought out procession and protest rally on the campus. The procession paraded through the campus before it ended in front of JnU liberation war sculpture at around 11:00am.
Members of JnU Teachers’ Association, like the previous days, held a protest rally around 11:00am in front of the university’s Shaheed Rafiq building. There were cultural activities jointly attended by teachers as well as students.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, JnU Bangladesh Chhatra League unit president Shariful Islam said the university authorities had failed to arrange even a single dorm for the students after eight years of establishment.
“That’s why we are demonstrating peacefully to press home our demand. A mass rally will be held in front of the central shaheed minar on March 16,” he said.
Yesterday’s demo ended around 02:00pm.
JnU students and teachers have been demonstrating since February 12 to press home their demand for recovery of grabbed dorms. To date, no step has been taken by the government, though several ministers said action would be taken to resolve the crisis.
