I am disappointed by what happened with Mahfuz Bhai: Asif Mahmud

ছবিঃ সংগৃহীত

News Desk: After a meeting with the Jagannath University administration at the state guesthouse Jamuna on Wednesday night, Information Adviser Mahfuz Alam was attacked at the Kakrail Mosque intersection. During a press briefing, a sabotage group among the students threw a water bottle at him. This incident has drawn expressions of disappointment from Youth and Sports, and Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan.

Late Wednesday night (May 14), Asif Mahmud made a related post on his verified Facebook ID.

In the post, Asif Mahmud wrote:
“We have our responsibilities within the government. Apart from official duties of the ministry, we are often engaged with many additional responsibilities. Even so, I always try to remain active in resolving student issues, movements, or realizing logical demands. Sometimes, I even play a bridging role between other ministries and try to facilitate understanding.”

He added,
“Today's incident at Suhrawardy Udyan doesn’t fall under my official duties either. But I took the initiative out of a sense of responsibility.”

He further wrote,
“I’m disappointed by what happened with Mahfuz Bhai a few hours ago. He could have easily said, ‘This is not under my ministry,’ and walked away.”

Earlier on Wednesday, students and teachers from Jagannath University went to the Chief Adviser’s residence at Jamuna with several demands. There, they clashed with the police. Later that night, Adviser Mahfuz came to brief the students after discussing matters with university teachers — and that’s when the attack occurred.

During the briefing, Adviser Mahfuz said about the students’ demands:
“Since morning, Jagannath University students have been protesting regarding accommodation issues. They’ve raised three demands. Whether these demands are valid or not will be assessed by the Ministry of Education. Our government takes accommodation crises at universities seriously. The students have proposed that their housing allowance be increased to 70% in the upcoming budget. The exact percentage is subject to discussion. They’ve also called for the second campus work to be expedited. We hope these tasks will progress soon.”

He continued,
“Another demand is not to reduce the budget or rather to increase the allocation in the upcoming budget. We hope that a meeting between the Chief Adviser, the Jagannath University administration, and relevant stakeholders will be arranged soon. The issue should be resolved promptly.”