KOLKATA: The students of Presidency University gheraoed vice-chancellor Anuradha Lohia for 36 hours till Wednesday afternoon pressing a series of demands including reopening of Hindu Hostel and reinstating the transferred staff. The siege started around 1 pm on Monday with a sit-in demonstration outside the VC’s chamber. The demonstration is spearheaded by the students’ union-backed by SFI, the CPI(M)’s students’ wing.
The Hindu Hostel was shut down in July 2015 for repair work and around 150 boarders were shifted to rented accommodation in New Town, which is quite far from the university. The university authorities failed to meet several deadlines for completion of the work. Some of the floors were opened since 2018 but three more wards remained incomplete and were never opened to the students.
"The politics of confining the VC to release every demand is not justified. I would urge the students to reconsider their style of movement. These issues can be sorted out through dialogues,’’ said state education minister Partha Chatterjee.
General secretary of the students’ union Souren Malik said the movement had started with four demands related to reopening of the entire hostel. "We submitted seven deputations with the VC related to seven different issues, but no response came from her end,’’ he said.