Visva Bharati gherao continues for 2nd day

The gherao of the officiating registrar and eight other officials of Visva-Bharati University continued for the second day today with the physical education department students refusing to withdraw their agitation.
Officiating registrar Amit Hazra told reporters he had already communicated to the students last night that the university will sympathetically consider their demand that more hostel rooms be allotted to them and the old students, who have got hostel accomodation, will definitely be alloted rooms.
"But they (students) still continued their agitation. It is not possible to allot so many seats for only physical education department," Hazra, who is also the proctor, added.

The eight other officials, locked by a section of the students of the physical education department at the proctor's office since 10 am yesterday, included a woman who is the deputy proctor.
An agitator said the varsity administration had previously cancelled hostel seats allotted in 2014 for the physical education department students and now 55 students, including girls do not have any place to stay in after attending classes from 6 AM to 3 PM.
"We will not move from the place till the authorities allot hostel rooms for every applicant," he said.

The university had alloted hostel seats for around 25 students of physical education department, an official said.

The gherao began a day after functioning of the 'Siksha Bhavana' (institute of science) in the university was hampered as a section of the students locked the main entrance of the institute for around four hours on August 21.
The science students had resorted to the August 21 gherao to protest against some "objectionable" comments made by a teacher of the physics department about the students.