IIT-K students join reservation stir

Kanpur, May 28 (UNI) Students of the Indian Institute of Technology here today came in support of the striking doctors of Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College, giving a boost to their ongoing agitation against reservation.

The movement under the banner of 'Forum of Indians against Reservation' (FIR), which started this evening, will involve a batch of ten students who will sit for chain hunger strike for 24 hours daily.

''The students are not at all against support for the backward or dalit students but feel such measures will not help them in the long run'', a spokesman of striking students said, adding that members of such sections should be given active support from the beginning of their educational career.

On the government's proposal to increase the seats in the institutions of higher education, the student leader said that it must first improve the basic infrastructure in them. ''For example, the IIT-K needs 410 faculty members against the existing 310...

when the seats would be increased more faculty would be needed,'' he said.

Menwhile, the strike by the doctors and students continued but had lesser impact was seen as today was Sunday and rush of the patients was not much.

The 'Savarn Garib Morcha' also organised a dharna at Phoolbagh in protest against reservation today and demanded withdrawal of the proposals as they would seek to divide society further.

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