ABVP Protest Erupts at Dharmanagar College, Former Women’s Commission Chairperson Barnali Goswami Faces ‘Go Back’ Slogans
By Our Correspondent
Agartala, September 23, 2026
Tension surfaced at Dharmanagar Government Degree College on Tuesday after members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) organised a protest over a series of alleged problems affecting students and the functioning of the college. During the demonstration, former Tripura State Commission for Women chairperson and wife of Dharmanagar MLA Jawahar Chakraborty, Barnali Goswami, reportedly faced “Go Back” slogans from protesting students.
According to the allegations raised by ABVP students, the college has been facing several issues for a considerable period, including drinking-water shortages, inadequate availability of teachers and disruption of regular teaching-learning activities. The student organisation also alleged that students coming from distant areas are being affected because of irregular academic activities.
The protest followed a series of representations allegedly submitted to the college authorities regarding these problems. ABVP claimed that the issues had been brought to the notice of the college administration on several occasions and that memoranda had also been submitted on different demands. However, the student organisation alleged that the problems had not received a permanent solution.
ABVP further alleged that the shortage of teachers has affected regular classes at the college. According to the organisation, students are compelled to travel long distances to attend classes, while the absence or shortage of adequate teaching staff has resulted in disruption of their studies.
The availability of safe drinking water was also highlighted as a major concern. ABVP students alleged that the problem has persisted for a long time and that despite repeated requests to the college authorities, the issue remains unresolved.
Against this backdrop, ABVP organised a multi-day awareness and protest programme on the college premises. The programme reportedly included awareness activities and interaction with students regarding the problems they claimed to be facing.
On Tuesday, the fifth day of the programme, a confrontation reportedly developed when Barnali Goswami visited the college premises. ABVP alleged that the students were not properly informed beforehand about the awareness programme and that her presence led to dissatisfaction among a section of the students.
The protesters subsequently raised slogans, including “Go Back”, while opposing her presence on the campus. The incident led to a visible disagreement between the protesting students and the college authorities.
ABVP student representatives, including Manab Chakraborty and Ratan Deb, reportedly alleged that the organisation had not been adequately informed about the programme involving Goswami. They questioned why an awareness programme was being conducted on the college campus without properly informing the students concerned.
The student organisation also claimed that the college administration had earlier been informed about the problems through memoranda and deputations, but that the issues, including drinking water, shortage of teachers and disruption of classes had not been permanently resolved.
The protest also brought renewed attention to the functioning of Dharmanagar Government Degree College and the responsibilities of the college administration in addressing students’ basic academic and infrastructural requirements.
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