V-C in chamber since Tuesday as Presidency students continue protest

Kolkata: A section of students at the Presidency University continued their protest for the third day on Wednesday as Vice-Chancellor Anuradha Lohia remained in her chamber overnight.

The students iterated they would not prevent the V-C from leaving, but continue with their sit-in outside her chamber till their demands were met.

A university official said, Lohia had returned to the main campus at 3 pm on Tuesday and was in her room ever since.

After confined to her room by the agitating students for 16 hours since Monday, Lohia had made an exit through the side door of her chamber on Tuesday morning.

Over 100 protesting students were singing popular choir songs and raising slogans outside the main door of the V-C's chamber.

Among others, the agitators were demanding that the repair works in three of the five wards of the 130-year-old Hindu Hostel be completed without any delay and eight sacked hostel employees be reinstated immediately. The protesting students sat on the verandah outside the main door, raising slogans such as 'Tai to Boli kaman dago,kaman dago/V-C-r ghare kaman dago,' (Direct your volley of canon fires towards VC's room), 'Ei V-C, Registrar aar nei darkar' (We don't need such a V-C, a Registrar any more).

"I can't talk to you now," the V-C said, when asked if there was a possibility of holding dialogue with the students.

One of the protestors, Subho Biswas said, "We will continue to sit outside the V-C's chamber till our demands are met." The students also demanded that she expresses regret in writing over the issue of female students allegedly been prevented from taking part in a convention on the day of Saraswati Puja in the campus.