E-Paper
Allahabad: Students protest against reservation
Hundreds of students in Allahabad damaged about two dozen private and UP State Road Transport Corporation buses and created chaos at Civil Lines bus depot on Monday afternoon. Vinod Khanal reports
Hundreds of students in Allahabad damaged about two dozen private and UP State Road Transport Corporation buses and created chaos at Civil Lines bus depot on Monday afternoon.
The students are piqued by the decision of the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) to open the unreserved seats for reserved category candidates along with that of existing general category.
The student’s resentment soon spread in other parts of the busy Civil Lines, and within no time all the shopping malls and PVR cinemas downed shutters.
The trouble began when around 150 aspirants preparing for various competitive examinations reached Civil Lines in a procession.
The mob suddenly tuned violent and started pelting stones on buses parked at Civil Lines depot, damaging around two dozen buses and created chaotic scene at the entrance. The students were later dispersed by police force from Civil Lines police station. Later at PVR too, students turned violent after which police had to use force to disperse them.
The agitated students then reached the venue where four students had been observing hunger strike since July 11, at the gates of the UP Public Service Commission.
UPPSC Chairman Anil Kumar Yadav invited five representatives for talks after SP (City) Shailesh Kumar Yadav and ADM (City) Divya Prakash Giri pressured him to initiate dialogue with the agitating students.
Till the filing of the report, talks were in progress and the students had demanded that instead of five, 11 students and selected mediapersons would hold talks with the UPPSC officials.
The students have also filed a writ petition in the Allahabad high court, and the court has fixed a hearing date.
