Approximately 70 boarders have maintained a sit-in protest outside the dean of hostels' office for over 101 hours, calling for eight bus trips per day between the hostel and campus, according to a spokesperson representing the demonstrators who spoke to PTI.
Kolkata: Students from Presidency University took to the streets on Monday, staging a protest at the bustling College Street-MG Road crossing in Kolkata. Their primary demand: improved bus services for female boarders residing in the institute's Salt Lake hostel.
Approximately 70 boarders have maintained a sit-in protest outside the dean of hostels' office for over 101 hours, calling for eight bus trips per day between the hostel and campus, according to a spokesperson representing the demonstrators who spoke to PTI. The distance between the two locations spans about 10 kilometers, causing significant disruption to traffic flow, particularly affecting vehicles headed towards Hatibagan and Howrah, which were delayed for nearly half an hour at the intersection.
The protesters underscored the necessity for reliable transportation, particularly for female students commuting from areas outside Kolkata, who rely on the hostel to ensure punctuality in attending classes. They asserted their determination to persist until the university administration addresses their grievances.
With approximately 180 female boarders housed in the hostel, demands include the reinstatement of a bus service that was suspended following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. University officials cited financial constraints as the reason behind the discontinuation of the previous subsidized bus service provided by the state transport department, stating that currently, the institute can only afford to organize one bus.
