Students of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU) mounted protests in the capital on Wednesday, demanding the return of Old Trade Fair ground to the university for research and opposing plans to construct a Secretariat or organise any other fair on the site.
Students under the university’s banner marched in a large procession into the Old Trade Fair ground at 11am.
The protestors chanted slogans including “Ek, dui, tin, char, amlatontro nipat jak” (One, two, three, four, down with bureaucracy), “Action to action, direct action”, and “Shachibaloy na SAU? SAU, SAU!” (Secretariat or SAU? SAU, SAU!).
Upon entering the field, the protesting students vandalised under-construction main entrance gate of the fair using bamboo sticks and bricks.
They tore down the surrounding tin perimeter fence, demolished under-construction stalls inside the ground, and bent down several newly installed light posts erected for the event.
The students pressed a single demand – their field must be returned to them. They issued a 12-hour ultimatum to the organisers, warning that they would return if the site was not cleared within this timeframe, while expressing optimism that the government would accept their demand.
In response, the organisers announced a halt to all construction work. “Until a settlement is reached with the university, we will not carry out any work on the fair,” an organiser said, adding that stall owners whose goods were on site had been notified to collect them.
Highlighting their position, SAU students noted that since Trade Fair has been relocated elsewhere, their original field should be restored for agricultural research.
They argued that the site is structurally insufficient for a Secretariat layout, making such construction illogical.
“If president Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia were alive and if we could have brought this to their ears, they would never have built a Secretariat on this agricultural land,” students remarked.
Urging the authorities not to agitate students, the protestors called on the state to show respect and highlighted how past fascists suffered after provoking students.
They insisted that the land designated for research be released to the university to allow research activities to proceed.
Issuing a direct warning, the students said, “A Secretariat will have to be built over our blood”.
Addressing the vandalism, students clarified that the destruction was not carried out intentionally.
Questioning under whose permission the structures had been set up for the fair, they explained that having issued an ultimatum on Tuesday which went unheeded, they acted within their rights to reclaim their land while remaining respectful of the law.
