Students block railway line in Gazipur demanding renaming of Bangabandhu Digital University
Rail communication between Dhaka and the northern part of the country remains suspended
Students in Gazipur have blocked the railway line in the Kaliakair Hi-Tech Rail Station area, demanding the renaming of Bangabandhu Digital University to Bangladesh Digital University.
They blocked the railway tracks around 9:15am today (24 February), halting rail communication between Dhaka and the northern part of the country.
"Train services on the Joydebpur-Jamuna route have been suspended. Due to the blockade, the Burimari Express train is stuck at Mouchak Station, causing inconvenience to passengers," said Md Alam, the ticket booking officer at Hi-Tech Railway Station.
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The students said the name of Bangabandhu Digital University (BDU) has been changed to Gazipur Digital University through a gazette notification.
They demand that the university's name be changed to Bangladesh Digital University.
"The name Gazipur Digital University does not clearly reflect the university's dignity and identity. We want the university to be recognised as Bangladesh Digital University, which will establish it as a national institution for academic and technological development," said Shahriar Hossain, a student of the university.
The students said they will continue their protest until their demands are met.
On 13 February, the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs issued a notification announcing the university's name as Gazipur Digital University.
Since then, students have been demanding that the name be changed to Bangladesh Digital University and holding human chains, protests, and other programmes.
On Saturday afternoon (22 February), students held a human chain on the Chandra-Kaliakair regional road in Gazipur's Kaliakair Upazila.
The students began protesting at 9am this morning as part of their ongoing movement. Later, they marched from the university's administrative building and blocked the railway line.
Shortly after starting the blockade, the students allowed the Sirajganj Express to pass at around 9:45am as several patients were on the train, and their relatives requested the students to let it pass.
Afterwards, the students continued their blockade by sitting on the railway tracks.
"The students have blocked the railway line to press for their demands. They held the Sirajganj Express train for some time but later allowed it to pass. However, train services on that route remain temporarily suspended," said Hanif Ali, the station master of Joydebpur Railway Junction.
