KOLKATA: Around 90 students living in Eden Hindu Hostel of Presidency University have surrounded the office of dean of students Arun Kumar Maiti since 5 pm on Monday over the hike in hostel fees and restoration of the mess system in the hostel.
The students have said that they will continue the agitation until their demands are met. They complained that the recruitment of a superintendent for the Eden Hindu Hostel had been completed but even after the lockdown, the mess system remained suspended.
"The boarders of the girls' hostel have talked to their super and have arranged a menu for their food service. Soon the university will issue a tender looking towards the same. The hostellers at the boy's hostel have also talked to their super in order to get a menu checked for food service. The university is hopeful that this service will also begin quickly," Maiti said.
The students reiterated that before Covid-19 induced pandemic, the mess staff were allocated to hostels on a tender basis and the residential students would do the necessary
buying of ingredients, thus they knew the accounts to it. They alleged that with the introduction of the canteen system, the cost will increase for each student. The students also claim that within two months of the opening of the hostel after the pandemic, the
establishment charge has been increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000. The monthly bed rent has also increased from Rs 90 to Rs 200. This was not the first time that hostellers protested at the university premises.
Earlier in August, the students had staged a protest demanding the opening of the Eden Hindu Hostel mess and appointment of a super.