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Feature

Jahangirnagar University campus:
Paradise lost

Md Raisul Kabir Apurba

It was not more than five and a half years back when I first set footsteps in the Jahangirnagar University campus. The charming natural beauty, especially the nice lakes attracted me first. It was winter and the well-known guest-birds were all over those lakes. I was really fascinated and the cold breeze over the lake water thrilled me. The chirping of an unlimited number of birds coming from distant lands not only pleased visitors like me but also attracted bird specialists to the campus. The birds all over the crystal lakes were not only a matter of joy and beauty but also an artifice in itself. The next thing which attracted me is the community approach among the students, teachers and also among other people working in the campus. All the students, male and female, seemed to be free, open-minded, easy, confident and sympathetic towards each other. I found no gender discrimination in their outlook. Life seemed to me secure and full of fun. To me it seemed like the perfect place to study. Over these last few years, studying in Rajshahi University, I always missed the environment of that institution. So when I got the chance to go there again with my younger brother as a guide for his admission test, the beautiful picture came back to me. But it was a shock. I was moved by the pathetic condition of the lakes, which have lost all their beauty. The water has lost the regular level and flow. Lack of generosity on part of the authority and also the students did this damage. There was nothing in those lakes with which I could relate to the sweet memory in my mind. Each and every lake was filled up with soil, bush and water-hyacinth. The authority did not seem bothered about cleaning up the lakes. It was not the end. My heart broke when some applicants lost their mobile phones and money to pickpockets while checking the seat distribution. The students were worried for their loss, which overwhelmed them during the exam. The university authority did not seem to care. They blamed the students for the situation. The guards said that they can not stop the students when students themselves are causing the damage. I found some police standing there, who were more interested in ogling the female applicants. It seemed to me that their duty was to stand still, watch and not to do anything. I'm not a student of this university. But I'm a citizen and above all a student of this country. We are devoid of many facilities that a healthy society should give us. I know this kind of writing has little effect upon the authority. But at least can I ask the authority and the government: Is this really the environment for healthy education that a country should provide us with?

(English Dept. Rajshahi University)