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Telangana tech institute students’ protests against ‘poor facilities’ enters third day
Heavy police forces supervised by Nirmal assistant superintendent of police Kiran Khare erected barricades in front of the academic block and other main buildings. Police have also imposed restrictions on the movement of civilians near the campus.
Up in arms against the lack of amenities in the college hostels and proper teaching faculty, nearly 8,000 students from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Knowledge and Technologies (RGUKT) continued protest for the third consecutive day on Thursday at the temple town of Basar in Telangana’s Nirmal district.
Braving rains and humid conditions, the students have been staging a sit-in at the second gate of the campus, as the police prevented them from entering the premises through main entrance.
Heavy police forces supervised by Nirmal assistant superintendent of police Kiran Khare erected barricades in front of the academic block and other main buildings. Police have also imposed restrictions on the movement of civilians near the campus.
“Another 2,000 students have been confined to their classrooms and hostels. The campus is virtually under the police control,” Alekhya N, one of the students posted on social media.
Parents of several students who had come to the campus to extend solidarity with their children were also detained by police. The parents were seeking the government’s intervention to resolve the students’ issues. They were shifted to Basar police station.
Vernacular journalist P Srinivas said that the students were protesting against the indifferent attitude of the state in providing basic infrastructure to the university.
“The institution, popularly known as Indian Institute of Information Technology-Basar, doesn’t have a regular vice-chancellor and a proper faculty to teach the students who get admission after a rigorous entrance test. The students have complained that they don’t even have laptops to learn software technology,” he said.
Last week, the students boycotted the mess when a dead frog was found in their food. They complained that they find insects in their food almost every day and no one bothers to listen to their plight.
“We are suffering from many problems, including lack of proper food, laptops, uniforms, electricity, water supply and lecturers. So, we are holding peaceful protests,” said a student Manasa Rachamalla.
Another student said even though they had sent mails to the district authorities on deficiencies in the institution, no action was taken.
On Wednesday, district collector Mushraff Ali Faruqi and administrative officer of the institution Rajeshwar Rao held talks with students and assured to take up the issues with the government, but the students did not relent.
Though state information technology minister K T Rama Rao said the government will look into their issues, however, a comment made by state education minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy that most of the students’ demands were silly, angered them.
The students demanded that chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao visit the campus and address their problems.
Later on Thursday evening, the state government appointed Prof Satish Kumar as the new director of the RGUKT Basar. “We are happy that there is some move from the government, but our protests will continue till all our main issues are resolved,” Harish T, a representative of Student Governing Council of the institution said.
Meanwhile, education minister Sabitha Indra Reddy appealed to the students to withdraw their stir. “The government is sympathetic towards their demands. We request them to withdraw the agitation,” she said.
