Puducherry students strike: HRD Min team holds talks with stake holders

Puducherry, Aug 6: A two-member official team, deputed by Union HRD Ministry, to look into the 10-day old indefinite strike by students of Pondicherry University demanding removal of its Vice-Chancellor among other things, today held talks with various stake holders of the varsity.

The team, comprising University Grants Commission Joint Secretary K P Singh and the Director of Higher Education in the HRD Ministry Amit Shukla, commenced talks with the faculty members, students and staff of the university, under the administrative control of Human Resource and Development Ministry.

University sources said the team held talks with the Vice-Chancellor Chandra Krishnamoorthy and Registrar in-charge S Panneerselvam of the university. Later the team members held talks in batches with the students, the faculty members and staff, the sources said, adding the team would camp here till tomorrow noon.

The team was deputed by the Ministry to assess the situation arising out of the indefinite strike by the students since July 27 in support of their demands, including removal of the Vice-Chancellor and also earmarking of 25 per cent quota of seats in each of the disciplines in the university for students of the Union Territory.

They also wanted availability of assured drinking water, adequate hostel facilities and other amenities. As the two-member team arrived, the agitating students started making their pleas for removal of the Vice-Chancellor on the ground that she had been facing several allegations including 'plagiarism and nepotism, chaotic administration and violation of human rights'.

President of local unit of BJP MLA M Visweswaran, who was on the spot, appealed to the students to ensure that the team faced no hindrance. A DMK delegation presented a memorandum to the team seeking the HRD Ministry's intervention to restore normalcy in the campus by conceding the demands of the students.

PTI