Fear of illegal occupancy looms
The Dhaka University (DU) administration has decided to end the crammed "gono room culture" at its dormitories, shifting students who were staying there before the pandemic to regular dorm rooms amid concerns over health safety.
The university authorities said they would first vacate seats occupied for long by former students and gradually allot those rooms to students housed in the gono (mass) rooms.
However, students fear that if the administration cannot prevent the stay of "illegal" former students at the dormitories, it will create uncertainty for those living in the mass rooms.
Wishing anonymity, a first-year student said if the administration fails to vacate seats occupied by former students on time and close the gono room, he may have to stay outside the campus to pursue his education.
The student, who is from Sylhet, said he had stayed at such a room in Shaheed Sergeant Zahurul Haque Hall for three months before the pandemic, as the hall authorities did not allot a regular room to him.
The 18 DU dormitories for students, including five for female students, were closed in March last year amid the surge in Covid-19 positive cases in the country. Besides, DU has an international dormitory for foreign students.
The DU administration is preparing to reopen the 18 dorms in a limited scale on October 5 ahead of resumption of classes.
At DU, a gono room is a makeshift accommodation, usually a four-bed room, where 30 to 35 students, mostly freshers, live in crammed conditions.
There are allegations that students who are involved in ruling party politics "control" those rooms. They take advantage of regular students by allowing them to stay there.
Prior to the pandemic, an estimated 3,500 students had been living in the gono rooms.
It is unclear how many DU dorm seats are currently occupied by former students.
Sources at the university said a proposal to end the "gono room culture" was made at a meeting of the university's Provost Standing Committee with Vice Chancellor Prof M Akhtaruzzaman as chair last month.
On September 18, the DU Syndicate, the highest governing body of the university, approved the proposal.
The DU authorities took a similar decision to vacate seats occupied by former students several times in the past but failed to implement it allegedly due to influence of the ruling party's student wing.
However, considering the Covid-19 situation, this time the university administration is taking a hardline to implement the decision which is pivotal to ensuring social distancing, said authorities.
Prof Abdul Bashir, provost of Bijoy Ekattor Hall, said they have already identified rooms occupied by former students.
Besides, the hall authorities have prepared a draft list of first- and second-year students. The vacant seats will be allotted to them, he said.
Prof Saiful Islam Khan, provost of Sir AF Rahman Hall, said they have also prepared a list of "illegal" students who have occupied dormitory seats for a long time.
As per the university's decision, after reopening of dormitories, students currently pursuing their master's degree and those who are in honours final year will be allowed in the dormitories first.
Once these students complete their exams, they will leave the dormitories. Later, students of other academic sessions will be allowed in the dorms gradually.
When the university reopens, students will finally be allowed as per allotted seats. Hall authorities will ensure the allotment, said Prof Bashir, also convener of Provost Standing Committee.
"We will be monitoring and supervising the halls regularly and it will not be impossible to stop the [former] students from entering," he added.
Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader reportedly said students of different universities and colleges who are involved in student politics mainly "control" the gono rooms.
Many also do "business" over this. Such activities should be stopped forever, he told a virtual programme recently.
Contacted, DU VC Prof M Akhtaruzzaman said the hall authorities will ensure students' stay at dorms as per a decision taken by the university administration.
Hopefully, students will cooperate with them, said the VC.
Recently, this correspondent visited nine of the 13 dormitories for male students and found workers were washing and cleaning the floors while some were busy painting the walls.
The authorities have also set up hand-washing facilities for students there.
CRAMMED CONDITION
The Daily Star talked with 10 DU students who had been living in gono rooms before the pandemic-forced closure.
They narrated their horrid experiences of living in the crammed situation.
A student of Shaheed Sergeant Zahurul Haque Hall said while staying at a gono room it was hard to have good night's sleep. Some even developed skin disease living in such close proximity to others.
"Above all, it's very hard to concentrate on studying," he added.
Another student of the same hall said, "I lived with 30 to 35 of my friends in a room."
He alleged that while staying at a gono room he was forced by "political big brothers" to participate in political meetings and programmes.
A student at Kabi Jashimuddin Hall said he caught a cold as the so-called big brothers made him walk around the campus on a winter night.
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