Kolkata: Presidency students end daylong blockade

A section of Presidency University students on Friday lifted a daylong road blockade they had set up at the busy MG Road-College Street crossing here the evening before to demand a quick renovation of three dilapidated wards of the university's Hindu hostel. The students also demanded the reinstatement of eight hostel staff who were recently sacked for reportedly supporting the students' complaint about overcrowding in two wards, and lack of basic amenities.

The protesters, numbering around 30, said they did not want to inconvenience commuters, and were willing to shift their demonstrations to the university. "We are not calling off the protest," said one of them. "We will continue with our protest inside the university. As authorities did not show any interest to sit for talks with the students after 24 hours of road blockade then there is no point causing inconvenience to the common man. The people must not suffer because of university authorities. So, we are lifting the road blockade but will continue our sit-in inside the campus."

Earlier in the day, the protesters cleared a portion of the road, allowing some vehicles to pass, after some local people and the police intervened. Most of the traffic was diverted. The students held placards and some of them shouted "azaadi [freedom] from autocracy".

As the blockade went on, university Vice-Chancellor Anuradha Lohia said the protestors did not want to have a conversation with authorities. "Today they have choked the road but they have been doing the same inside the university as well," she added. "The official work got hampered here because of their protests. They have been staging a sit-in here since January 21. On January 27, we clearly told them what we can do and what we cannot. I was gheraoed for three days while our dean of students was gheraoed for five days. When we told them that we cannot fulfill their certain demands they were not willing to listen to us. It goes to show that they don't want to have a conversation. How can we work under such circumstances?"

Last month, the students had gheraoed Lohia for more than 30 hours to press their demand. According to sources, she has not visited the university's main campus on College Street since then.

State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee also criticised the students. "They cannot inconvenience the common man to justify their demands," he told reporters. "If they need to speak with anyone other than university authorities then the state education department is willing to listen to their demands. But it is not wise block roads and stage a protest. This is not the way to press their demands."

(Inputs and image from theindianexpress.com)