Nagpur: Hundreds of students of Dr. Babasahab Ambedkar Students Union conducted a protest outside the Amaravati Road Campus of Nagpur University. The protest was conducted over demands of cleanliness in toilets, arrangement of drinking water facility & water cooler, open access library, bus facility till girl’s hostel for the residents and involvement of higher number of students in the ‘learn and earn’ programme. The chief demand among them all was establishment of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule’s statue inside the university campus.
The students conducted the protest by forcefully closing the main gate and not allowing the vehicles to enter. The students and teachers, as a result, had to park their vehicles outside the university gate. Considering the level of protest, police forces were also deployed. The students, however, declined to calm down and said that they will put forward the demands only in front of the Vice Chancellor later to which, their demands were heard by the university officials.
There was a half-and-half agreement on university officials on the raised demands. Students have been assured that if the toilets are not clean, the tender of outsourcing for the same will be changed. On the demand of bus facility, it has been stated that it is not possible to arrange a bus service for merely 5-6 girls.
Dr. Siddhivinayaka Kane, Vice Chancellor, also stated that the construction of statues is funded by the government. There are no separate funds for the same. He has asked students to collect the funds for statue construction if they desire its establishment.
Students have also said that if their demands are not fulfilled, they will not allow the V.C. to enter his office.
