Govt to survey Presidency hostel progress, says Partha

A top official of the West Bengal education department would survey the progress of the work in the Presidency University's Hindu Hotel, which is under renovation, on November 26, minister Partha Chatterjee said Thursday.

A section of the Presidency students have been protesting against the prolonged renovation of Hindu Hostel affecting the outstation students.

The hostel, located beside the university building is being repaired by the state PWD for over three years, while its boarders have been accommodated in a rented premises at New Town, which is quite far.

A delegation of the agitating students met Education Minister Partha Chatterjee at the state Assembly when he assured them that the education secretary would review the progress of works in the hostel on November 26.

Chatterjee had on Monday said the demand by students for being accommodated in the Hindu Hostel at the earliest is just and cannot be ignored for long.

The state public works department (PWD) had missed the November 15 deadline for hostel renovation, following which the students started a sit-in demonstration in the main building of the university.

Chatterjee had also said the government would look into the reasons behind the delay in renovation work.

University Vice-Chancellor Anuradha Lohia recently said, while the government had wanted to complete the work of the two wards of hostel by November 15, the PWD gave a report that some work related to safety and security issues still remained to be completed.

On October 12 students had called off their 10-day-long hunger strike after authorities gave them a written assurance that they would be provided accommodation at the Hindu hostel, adjacent to the institute's campus, by the middle of November if the PWD gave the clearance.

The students had held sit-in protests on the institute since August 3 seeking room allotments at two wards of Eden Hindu Hostel but called off the sit-in along with fast on October 12.

The Hindu Hostel was shut down for repairs in July, 2015 and 150 boarders were shifted to a rented accommodation at New Town, which is quite far from the university.