Rabindra University students block railway, cutting off train service to the north

An official says six trains bound for Dhaka and the north were stranded on both ends of the blockade

Rabindra University students demanding the construction of a permanent campus have escalated their protest by blocking the railway line in Sirajganj’s Ullapara, halting rail communication between Dhaka and the Rajshahi, Khulna and Rangpur divisions.

The blockade began at 9am on Wednesday at Ullapara Railway Station.

At 1pm, students were still occupying the tracks despite the rain and poor weather conditions.

Six trains bound for Dhaka and the north of the country were stranded on both ends of the blockade, said Farid Ahmed, general manager of the Western Railway.

“Six trains are stuck on the line due to the blockade,” he said, naming the Chilahati-bound Chilahati Express at Saratnagar Station, the Dhaka-bound Silkcity Express at Lahiri Mohonpur, the Dinajpur-bound Ekota Express at Tangail, the Rajshahi-bound Dhumketu Express at Jamtail, the Rangpur-bound Rangpur Express at Ibrahimabad and a Dhaka-bound oil train at Chatmohar in Pabna.

He warned of major schedule disruptions if the protest continued.

Student leaders from several departments, including Hridoy Sarkar and Abdul Momin from the music department, Sujana and Hasan from the economics department, Abid and Shrishti Banerjee Sadman from the sociology department, and Muiz from the management department, addressed the blockade.

They said they had been protesting continuously since Jul 26, demanding swift approval of a development project proposal for the university’s permanent campus.

On Sunday, they staged a highway blockade at the Hatikumrul roundabout and gave authorities 48 hours to meet their demand.

The deadline passed without any response from the government, prompting Wednesday’s rail blockade.

Students said that nine years after the university’s founding, it was still operating in rented buildings, causing significant hardship for students, faculty and staff.

“This cannot continue. We want a permanent campus,” they said.

They called on the chief advisor and other relevant officials to act on their demands, vowing not to return home until a clear announcement was made.

They also demanded the resignation of Environment Advisor Syeda Rizwana Hasan, accusing her of opposing the approval of the development project proposal.