A group of students of the fine arts institute at Chittagong University began an indefinite hunger strike this afternoon, demanding the immediate relocation of their institute to the university's main campus.

The hunger strike commenced at 3:30pm in front of the administrative building, following a sit-in protest earlier in the day.

The students claimed that the university administration had failed to honour its commitment to relocate the institute by March 31.

"We spoke with the university administration today, and they said the fine arts administration is not cooperating with them. The university admitted its failure in this matter," said Swapnil Bhattacharya, a student of the 2017–18 academic session.

"We will continue the hunger strike until our demand is met through a formal syndicate circular," he added.

Professor Kamal Uddin, pro-vice-chancellor (administration), told The Daily Star that the issue is still being processed.

"We had a meeting, and a decision will be made soon," he said.

The demand for relocation stemmed from a longstanding protest movement.

On November 2, 2023, fine arts students boycotted classes and exams, raising 22 demands. After 82 days of protests, they returned to class on January 23 last year.

However, following a seven-day ultimatum, they resumed their protest on January 31. On February 2, the university authorities declared the Institute of Fine Arts closed. The students resumed their protests again on December 10. During one phase of the protest, on December 12, the university administration announced that the institute would be relocated to the main campus by March 31 this year.