Elections still a few weeks away, but protest season is on at PU

The latest issue over which SOPU and PUSU went on a hunger strike is construction of a median near UIET. With the median,PUSU member Tejpal Singh Cheema says,students have to walk almost a kilometre extra to reach the campus.

Both PUSU and SOPU know the importance of taking up cudgels on behalf of UIET students — they number 3,000. But the protest was no gimmick. During the hunger strike,four protesters had to be admitted in hospital.

The strike was wrapped up after Vice-Chancellor Prof R C Sobti intervened by telling them that the administration has decided to remove the median and made them eat sweets with his hands.

Several other protests have been held on the campus.

Recently,INSO protested against the quality of rice being served in the girls’ hostels — they want only Basmati rice to be served. INSO member Sukhdev Kundu told Dean Students Welfare Prof Naval Kishore that the girls would sit on hunger strike if they are not served Basmati rice.

In another protest,NSUI members sat on a dharna and blocked gate number 2 for a laptop theft in the girls’ hostel.

“The protests have started and will continue till elections. This is their strategy to attract attention,” a security official on campus said.

The students also know all too well what these protests mean. Talking to Newsline,a student,Shweta,said,“I wonder where these student leaders vanish after the elections. They are nowhere to be seen the entire year. Only during elections they come out of their shells.”

Another student,Aarti said,“Elections have lost meaning,and those who contest do it for their own good. Most of the issues over which these students hold protests are frivolous with no meaning at all.”

‘Issues’ that spark protests
* Cleanliness of washrooms
* Food being served in hostels
* Speed-breakers being put on campus
* Price of a meal in canteen being increased from Rs 14 to 15.