Striking teacher breaks 24-day old fast after Kejriwal promises campus

A teacher of the G.B. Pant Engineering College teacher ended his 24-day hunger strike for better campus facilities on Saturday, after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal assured him land for campus and an inquiry against the corrupt officials.

Joshil K. Abraham broke his hunger strike in the presence of local Aam Aadmi Party legislator Sahi Ram Pehelwan. He had started his fast on April 7 after getting no assurance from Kejriwal on the demands of the institution's students.

Bringing to book the officials who committed "irregularities" in the allocation of land to another institute was the other prominent reason for the hunger strike.

The Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology-Delhi (IIIT-D) in Okhla area of south Delhi is built on the same piece of land which was promised for the Pant Engineering College by the then Delhi government in 2007.

The engineering college is housed in the abandoned hostel building of G.B. Pant Polytechnic in a space of 2.8 acres, while it was promised 60 acres land by the Delhi government in the same premises, Abraham claimed, citing official documents.

"Out of this land, the goverment has allocated 25 acres since 2008 to IIIT-D, which is in public-private partnership. Moreover, according to a PWD survey there is only 48 acres of land which is available.

"The officials while allotting the land to that institute, nonetheless, maintained a figure of 65 acres... They also misled that the IIIT-D is an expansion of the G.B. Pant Polytechnic, without the latter's principal knowing anything about such a deal," Abraham had earlier told IANS.

Kejriwal said that he will order an inquiry into the matter. He had earlier promised the students and Abraham that he will meet them after the MCD elections.

--IANS

vn/vd