Three Students Die in Two Weeks, CUET Bans Entry Into All Campus Ponds

Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) has declared all ponds on its campus hazardous and banned students from entering, swimming or bathing in them until further notice following the deaths of three students within two weeks.

The university administration issued the directive on Thursday (August 13) in an emergency notice signed by Professor Dr Md Saiful Islam, director of the Directorate of Students’ Welfare. The notice said all ponds on the university campus had been declared hazardous considering students’ safety. Entry into, swimming or bathing in any campus pond will remain prohibited until further notice.

Anyone violating the directive by entering or getting into a pond will be considered to have engaged in conduct contrary to university discipline. Disciplinary action will be taken against violators under the university’s existing regulations, the notice said.

The administration also urged students and all concerned to strictly follow the directive and remain vigilant to ensure safety on campus. The decision comes after three CUET students drowned in the span of two weeks. On July 28, Arnab Saha, a student of the Mechanical Engineering Department from the 2021-22 academic year, drowned while bathing in the pond beside Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam Hall.

Before the university had recovered from the shock of his death, two more students drowned in the same pond on Wednesday, just two weeks later. The deceased were Chamak Dutta of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and Shanto Deb of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, both students of the 2024-25 academic year.

The deaths have prompted the university administration to impose a blanket ban on entering any pond on the CUET campus until further notice.