Agri Univ students withdraw Dhaka-M’singh railway blockade

The students of Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) withdrew their blockade of Dhaka-Mymensingh railway on Sunday afternoon, August 31, after around four hours.

They withdrew their barricade at about 3:30pm after Deputy Commissioner Mufidul Alam assured them of arranging a meeting between them and the agriculture adviser.

Md Masbaul Haque Miju, a student of the university, told Jago News their demands are rational and hopes the government will accept these. “We will go to tougher programme if the demands are not met.”

Mymensingh Railway police station officer-in-charge Md Aktar Hossain said the rail communication between Dhaka and Mymensingh returned to normal after the blockade was withdrawn.

Earlier around 11:30pm, the students of the BAU intercepted the Dhaka-bound ‘Haor Express’ train at Jabbarer intersection adjacent to the university to press home their three-point demand. 

Later, the train left for Dhaka around 12:45 pm.

Meanwhile, the students again blocked the Mohonganj-bound ‘Mahua’ commuter train around 1:00pm, forcing the authorities to suspend the rail services between Dhaka-Mymensingh routes.

The demands include to open the position of 10th grade (Sub-Assistant Agriculture Officer/Sub-Assistant Scientific Officer/Equivalent) for agricultural scientists in DAE, BADC and all other research institutions; to ensure no scope for promotion to the ninth grade (cancellation of BADC quota) without passing the recruitment exam; and the title 'Agricultural Scientist' cannot be used without a degree in agriculture or related fields and to issue a notification by the government in this regard.

The protesting students said they also condemned the ‘indecent comment’ made by the diploma holders in the social networking site Facebook against the female agriculturists.

Rubel Ahmed, a student of the Faculty of Agriculture, said, "We earn this degree after studying for five long years. Yet, if diploma holders can use titles similar to ours, then what is the significance of our degree? We want the government to accept our demands very soon."

With inputs from UNB.

Kamruzzaman Minto/MSU