JnU students begin mass hunger strike

Students of Jagannath University (JnU) began a mass hunger strike from 3:30pm today at the Kakrail intersection to press home their demands.

Mahtab Limon, general secretary of the Jagannath University Journalists' Association, made the announcement at 3:00pm on behalf of JnU Oikko, a platform of students, teachers, and other stakeholders of Jagannath University.

"Our movement has reached a point where there is no turning back. We will begin our hunger strike at 3:30pm. We will not return without victory," he said.

For the third consecutive day, JnU students demonstrated at the Kakrail intersection, pressing forward with their four-point demand.

Earlier, around 2:00pm, teachers and students initiated their previously announced programmes.

During the protests, students chanted various slogans.

Approximately 5,000 current and former students have joined the protest.

Presently, the area around Kakrail Mosque intersection is seen to be resonating with chants.

No final decision from the government to meet their demands has been announced yet.

The four demands of the students are the introduction of a housing allowance for 70 percent of students from the 2025-26 fiscal year until residential facilities are ensured, approval of JnU's proposed FY26 budget without cuts, approval of the construction of a second campus at the next ECNEC meeting as a priority project, and the punishment of police personnel who attacked students and teachers on Wednesday.