The Dhaka University (DU) unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League, student wing of the Awami League, staged demonstrations on the university campus on Wednesday demanding that the elections of the Dhaka University Central Student's Union (Ducsu), which has been defunct for more than 27 years, be held immediately.
The demonstrators brought out a procession from Madhur Canteen in the university on Wednesday afternoon and marched through the campus to the Aparajeyo Bangla sculpture, where they held a rally.
At the rally, they put forth 14 demands, which also include shutting down the evening programs at the university, upgrading food quality in the residential halls, and minimizing the accommodation crisis on the campus.
They said they would go to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to press home the students' demands if the university authorities did not respond to their demonstrations.
Addressing the rally, Chhatra League President Rezwanul Haque Chowdhury Shovon said: "We want the Ducsu polls by March, as per instructions of the High Court. We need Ducsu to build future leaders who will lead the country, because most of the nation’s leaders have come out of Ducsu.”
Mentioning that two of the major problems that the DU students currently faced were accommodation crisis and sub-par food quality at the dormitories, Shovon said these problems would be solved if Ducsu was active again.
Chhatra League General Secretary Golam Rabbani added to Shovon’s statement: “Students face many problems and seek for a platform to voice their demands, since Ducsu is defunct, we have not had that platform for almost 28 years.”
He demanded that the university authorities “stop dilly-dallying” and the schedule for the Ducsu elections be announced immediately.
Sonjit Chandra Das, president of Chhatra League’s DU unit, threatened to take to the streets if their demands were not met. “We want the Ducsu polls to ensure students’ rights,” he added.
Urging the DU authorities to abolish evening courses, DU unit General Secretary Md Saddam Hussain said: “This University is not a money-making industry. It is not a training centre that would provide evening programs.”
He also said Ducsu polls were not dependent on the DU authorities’ decision. “If need be, we will take the students’ demands to the prime minister’s table.”
The demonstrations were attended by leaders and activists of Chhatra League’s units in DU dormitories, as well as the party’s Dhaka Metropolitan North unit President Ibrahim Hossain, among others.
