Six-km-Long boat Chain, Rally for Barisal University
'Start session without delay'
Cross sections of people including a large number of students join a six-kilometre-long boat chain in Kirtonkhola River yesterday demanding early start of academic activities of Barisal University. Photo: STAR
'Barisal University Implementation Committee' yesterday held a six-kilometre-long boat chain, a human chain and a rally to press for immediate implementation of the project of Barisal University (BU), the only proposed general public university in Barisal division. Students of different educational institutions, their guardians, and people from cross sections of people participated at the programme. The speakers at the rally urged the government to lay foundation of the BU at the selected site in Karnakati and start academic session at rented premises till the infrastructures are completed. Implementation of the project for establishing a university in Barisal is hanging for over three decades although more than 30 public universities have been established in different parts of the country during this time, they said. Decision to establish a general public university in Barisal was first approved during the tenure of late president Ziaur Rahman on November 23, 1979. On September 17 in 2006, the then prime minister Khaleda Zia laid the foundation stone of the project to set up the university on 50 acres of land at Defulia on the outskirts of the city near the borders of Barisal, Jhalakathi and Pirojpur districts after the parliament approved that the university would be named after Ziaur Rahman. Later the caretaker government changed the site for the university at Goriar Par, about eight kilometres from the city centre near BKSP on November 10, 2008 and the University Grants Commission advertised for appointment of a vice chancellor for Shaheed Ziaur Rahman University on November 25, 2008. A fund of Tk 95 crore was approved in the meeting of ECNEC on November 29, 2008, and the authority also decided to start classes of five departments of the university by renting 16 rooms on Barisal Zila School campus in 2009-10 academic session. However, that project was abandoned after the Awami League (AL)-led grand alliance came to power. Later on March 9 in 2010, the government piloted a bill in parliament titled Shaheed Ziaur Rahman University, Barisal (Amendment) Bill 2010 seeking renaming of the proposed university as Barisal University, which was duly approved. Prof Dr Harun-or-Rashid Khan, director of Barisal University Implementation Project, said due to stay order of the court, even after placing a fund of Tk 7.44 crore for acquisition of land, the project authority is yet to receive its possession.
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