DUSU chief smears cow dung on principal’s office, says ‘fulfill basic needs of students’
In a viral video, Pratyush Vatsala, the principal of Lakshmibai College, was seen recently coating classroom walls with cow dung to beat the summer heat. She had called the same a research experiment, part of a faculty-led project.
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After smearing cow dung on the walls of Vatsala’s office, Khatri posted about the action on X, saying that he and his supporters had gone to “help” the principal by plastering her office in the same material. (Screenshot: X/@PTI_News)Days after the principal of Delhi University’s Lakshmibai College, Pratyush Vatsala, was seen applying cow dung on the walls of a classroom, calling it a “desi” solution to beat the summer heat, Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) president Ronak Khatri on Tuesday smeared cow dung on Vatsala’s office walls in protest.
In a video, widely shared on social media, Vatsala was seen recently coating classroom walls with cow dung. She had called the same a research experiment, part of a faculty-led project titled ‘Study of Heat Stress Control by Using Traditional Indian Knowledge’, which was conducted on the college’s second floor porta cabin classrooms — temporary structures that become especially hot during summer.
According to Vatsala, the study sought to explore “indigenous methods to make these classrooms cooler,” and was carried out after students raised concerns about extreme temperatures.
Speaking to The Indian Express, she said, “The classrooms where we had held the experiment is located in a porta cabin and not a pucca structure… Several students have approached us with concerns about the increasing heat. So, we thought we would implement some indigenous methods to make these classrooms cooler.”
Dr Shwetank, an assistant professor of Environmental Studies overseeing the experiment, said the material applied to the walls was a slurry composed of 40% clay soil, 10% gypsum, 10% red soil, 10% husk and straw, and 30% cow dung.
दिल्ली यूनिवर्सिटी के लक्ष्मीबाई कॉलेज में प्रिंसिपल द्वारा अपने हाथों से क्लासरूम में गोबर पोतने काउंटर में DUSU अध्यक्ष रौनक खत्री का फिर प्रिंसिपल दफ्तर में डेमो…. pic.twitter.com/OvjOhHbhb8
— Dinesh Dangi (@dineshdangi84) April 15, 2025
“It is being misunderstood that cow dung has been smeared on the classroom walls,” he said. “We involved students, too, in this experiment, as the end user feedback is very important. Classes are going on as usual and students are also making paintings in that very same classroom on the walls.”
However, the video of the principal applying the slurry, circulated in the college’s faculty WhatsApp group, has sparked backlash from some students.
“No consent was taken from students for such an initiative,” Khatri told The Indian Express.
“The principal, instead of providing air-conditioners, applied cow dung all across the classroom walls. I visited the classroom today and the entire classroom smells of cow dung…” He added that no classes were being conducted in that room when he visited.
Taking on the college’s infrastructure, Khatri said: “There are no basic drinking water facilities in this college. There is no basic infrastructure for students to comfortably sit in the classroom and the principal is talking about some advanced research topic. It would be wise to first fulfill the basic needs of the students.”
After smearing cow dung on the walls of Vatsala’s office, Khatri on Tuesday posted about the action on X, saying that he and his supporters had gone to “help” the principal by plastering her office in the same material.
“We have full faith that madam will now get the AC removed from her room and hand it over to students, and run the college in this modern and natural cool environment smeared with cow dung,” he wrote.
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