The Chittagong University (CU) campus has turned into a ‘safe haven’ for drug peddlers and addicts -- both students and outsiders.  After sunset, they start gathering behind tea stalls. Some find their spot in a room at the dormitories, others in the central field or behind any building.

 They are seen roaming about freely almost everywhere on the campus —behind the arts building, central playground, CU railway station, Law faculty canteen, behind the CU college, behind Suhrawardi Hall, in front of the CU museum and some cottages in front of Shahamant Hall. Besides, the abuse is also rampant inside student dormitories of the university.

 Visiting those spots, this reporter found discarded yaba tablet packets and drugs like marijuana joint, liquor and phensidyl bottles.

 The drug binges sometimes turn into indecent activities with several female addicts joining in. The “carnival” usually starts around dusk and sometimes continues till dawn, said a CU transport staff on condition of anonymity.

 At the AF Rahman Hall, at least 10 rooms are known to be used for similar drug binges. The Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) and its affiliate left-leaning bodies control these rooms, said residential students.

 On November 23, the CU authorities caught four students taking contraband yaba tablets from the AF Rahman Hall. They were caught in room 323 of the dormitory. All of them are known BCL activists of the CU unit.  When this reporter met some leaders of the BCL's CU unit, they refused to talk as the unit has been abolished.

 The situation at the other six male dormitories – Shahjalal Hall, Shahamant Hall, Alawol Hall, Suhrawardi Hall, Abdur Rab Hall and Master Da Surya Sen Hall — is not any better.

Although no sensational incident has come to light yet in the three female dormitories, drug abuse in those facilities are also widespread, alleged several students on condition of anonymity.

When the university is closed for vacation, the situation turns worse, as the deserted campus is taken over by drug peddlers, complained several staff members living on the campus.

A couple of weeks back, the Proctorial body found around 100 empty bottles of the contraband phensidyl in a toilet of the Arts Faculty. Besides, in the middle of the year, the authorities seized a large amount of hemp from the Adbur Rab Hall.

“After the evening, the smell of drugs spreads from almost all dormitories of the university. We cannot sit on the tables for the smell,” said Mohammod Hossen, a student of the AF Rahman Hall.

A teacher of CU, on condition of anonymity, said these hideous acts are not the work of a single man or group. Rather, a powerful cartel controls the trade under the blessings of the administration and ruling parties.

This issue has to be addressed strongly, as “addicts and traders of drug usually get involved in anti-social and subversive activities," said the teacher. The CU's chief security officer, Md Bajol Haque, said: “We were aware of the situation. We've increased vigilance and are conducting routine drives against drug peddlers and addicts.

We have formed a Mobile Team that goes around the campus every day from 2pm to 12am.”

Md Ali Asgor Chowdhury, Proctor of The CU, said: “We've increased monitoring to curb abuse and trade of drugs on the campus. We've raided many places on the campus. Recently, we detained three students from the AF Rahman Hall while they were taking yaba. They were handed over to the Hathazari police.”

When contacted, CU Vice-chancellor, Prof Dr Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury, told The Independent: “We show zero tolerance for drug abuse on the campus.

 We have already taken various initiatives to keep the problem in check. We have installed CCTV (closed-circuit TV) cameras at important spots of the campus and are trying to bring the entire campus under a vigilance system.”