Jagannath University arranges buses to take students home for Eid in pandemic

The Jagannath University administration is using its own transport to send home students, who are marooned in Dhaka due to the coronavirus pandemic, ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha holiday.

Twenty-eight buses left the campus on Saturday morning carrying 1,507 students to the Rajshahi, Rangpur and Sylhet divisions.

“The buses are headed for the divisional cities,” Proctor Dr Mostofa Kamal told bdnews24.com. “Students will be able to disembark near their homes if it is along the way.”

Jagannath University has approximately 20,000 students. About 3,600 of them petitioned the university for buses to take them home for the holidays.

University buses headed for the Barishal and Khulna divisions will set off at 8 am on Sunday, and buses bound for the Mymensingh and Chattogram divisions will leave at 8 am on Monday. 

Students from Narayanganj and Narsingdi can board the Sylhet-bound bus, while students from Gazipur can take the Mymensingh-bound bus.

Similarly, students from Tangail can travel on the bus headed to Rajshahi.

Asked if pandemic health guidelines would be followed by students, the proctor said: "Every student must wear a mask. It's mandatory. Before boarding a bus, we will also check the body temperatures to see if they have a fever."

"All students must bring their university identity card. First-year students will have to bring the payslip of their admission. We will match their identities from our list. A few BRTC buses will also be hired for these trips," he added.