KOLKATA: Normalcy returned in Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) on Tuesday after the administration delivered the first revocation of suspension letters to four out of the 14 girl students, following a relay hunger strike by students since Saturday.
A peace agreement was reached after the administration agreed to revoke the suspension of the 14 girl students and change the 'suspension letters' to only 'warning letters' if the agitating students accepted the segregation of boys and girls hostels and went back to their respective allotted rooms.
Around 14 girl students of the premier film institute were suspended by the authorities after they refused to shift to a newly constructed girls hostel. The old erstwhile unisex hostel was designated as a boys hostel. The agitating girl students had reasoned that their work as budding film directors need late night work with men colleagues and segregation of hostels would not only hamper their work culture but also go against the culture of the institute, where such rules were earlier unheard of.
SRFTI director Debamitra Mitra had stated that the rules were made by the society that runs the institute and she has to implement it. She justified the suspension of the 14 students on basis of insubordination.
The agitating students had boycotted classes since the past 15 days. They also commenced a sit-in hunger strike in front of the director's residence demanding revocation of the expulsion order issued against the 14 girl students.
"We have called off the hunger strike on Tuesday after the administration sent the first four revocations of suspension letters. We have been promised that the remaining 10 will be delivered over the next couple of days. However, our other demands are yet to be met for which we would hold talks with the administration," Debottam Basu, assistant general secretary of SRFTI students union told The New Indian Express.