Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal at Jagannath University has issued a 10-day ultimatum, demanding the recovery of two student dormitories, Syed Nazrul Islam Hall and Abdur Rahman Hall, out of a total of eight student hostels reportedly under illegal occupation.

On Tuesday afternoon, leaders and activists of the university unit of Chhatra Dal, student wing of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party, visited the two halls as part of their campaign to reclaim the halls.

Students allege that prolonged illegal occupation of these halls has deepened their hostel crisis, as currently, the university has nearly 17,000 students, while residential facilities are available for around 1,200 female students only.

Earlier, Chhatra Dal activists staged a procession from the university’s main gate, marching through Ray Saheb Bazar before concluding in front of Abdur Rahman Hall in Armanitola area. A brief rally followed, where speakers highlighted the current condition of the occupied halls and pressed for their immediate recovery.

Later, at Syed Nazrul Islam Hall on Tipu Sultan Road, demonstrators hung banners and announced the ultimatum, urging current occupants to vacate the premises within ten days.

University Chhatra Dal convener Mehedi Hasan Hemal said that based on the students’ demand they gave the 10-day timeframe for vacating the halls.

‘We will return after that,’ he vowed.

Member secretary of the university unit Chhatra Dal Shamsul Arefin added, ‘University properties must be restored. Chhatra Dal knows how to organise movement and realise its demands.’

Leaders and activists of the organisation, along with candidates backed by the Chhatra Dal panel in the Jagannath University Central Students’ Union election, were present at the programme.