500 students suffer as meals stop at PUST hall canteen

Students of Bangabandhu Hall of Pabna University of Science and Technology (PUST) staged demonstration and besieged the provost's office as meals at the dormitory canteen stopped the day before due to huge unpaid dues allegedly from a few students belonging to Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL).

"Since opening of the hall canteen in March this year, we are struggling to meet illegal demands of a few Chhatra League leaders whose unpaid dues have stood around Tk 12 thousand. They often misbehave with us if we ask them to pay the dues," said Azmat Ali Bishwas, leaseholder of the hostel canteen.

Now five hundred students residing at the hall have fallen into trouble due to stoppage of meal at the canteen.

Earlier the quality of food at the canteen saw deterioration day by day, students alleged.

This correspondent could not talk to hall Provost Rashed Kabir as he did not receive the phone.

Contacted, Awal Kabir Joy, proctor of the university, said yesterday afternoon, "We have already discussed with general students, BCL leaders and hall dining authorities regarding the matter and hope to solve the problem quickly."

Asked about the allegation of huge unpaid dues from BCL leaders, the organisation's PUST unit president Shahed Siddique Shanto said, "It is true that some students fail to pay hall charges and dining charges timely due to shortage of money. But it is not a problem as everything will be paid eventually."

On the other hand, BCL's Bangabandhu Hall unit president Chowdhury Asif denied the allegation of unpaid dues for the dining and said, "The dining authorities provide poor quality food for the students. When we pressed them to develop the quality of food they stopped the meal arrangement."