SAU students go on rampage at fair ground
Students of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU) in Dhaka vandalised the entrance gate and other structures at the old trade fair ground on Wednesday, demanding the recovery of the field for the university’s research activities.
The students took the action after the organisers of the Asia International Trade Fair failed to shut down the fair within a deadline set by the protesters.
The demonstrators first gathered in front of the university’s flagpole stand before marching to the old trade fair ground, where they took up positions and chanted slogans demanding the return of the field.
On Tuesday, the students had questioned the organisers’ decision to hold the fair without the university’s permission and demanded that work at the venue be stopped.
However, the organisers did not comply with their demand, prompting the students to vandalise the entrance gate and several structures on Wednesday.
“We asked yesterday for the fair to be removed, and a deadline was set. But we have seen no progress in the meantime. We will continue the movement until we get our field back,” a student taking part in the protest said.
Md Jahangir Islam, the fair’s organiser, said they were prepared to remove the gate.
“We are telling them to remove the gate right now. We are not outsiders to this university. We will take it down,” he said.
The protesting students also opposed the proposed construction of a secretariat on the old trade fair ground, alleging that the plan had been developed during the Awami League regime.
They warned that the project would damage the green environment of SAU and nearby Zia Udyan in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, making Dhaka less liveable.
The students called on the government to reconsider the plan.
Teachers and students of SAU have been staging protests since the July uprising, demanding the restoration of the old research field for academic and research purposes.
They have also opposed the proposed construction of a secretariat at the site, insisting that the field be returned to the university and that its permission be obtained before any fair is organised there.
