HC panel backs boys for East hostel occupancy
CUTTACK: The committee formed to resolve the Ravenshaw East hostel issue has favoured its allotment to the boys in its final report submitted to the Orissa High Court on Thursday. The court will hear the matter on Tuesday. But the two student leaders in the panel felt that the hostel should go to the girls as their number is more than the boys in the varsity.
The court had formed the peace committee after the hostel allotment issue trigerred a students' agitation in Ravenshaw University. The boys wanted the hostel after the rennovation but the varsity authorities had declared to grant the hostel to the girls.
Demanding a change in decision, agitating students had virtually paralysed all academic activities in the varsity from past few months. This prompted former student union presidents of the varsity Akshaya Kumar Das , Chittaranjan Mohanty and Suvendu Mohanty to file a petition in the court for restoration of normalcy in the campus and a permanent solution to the East hostel issue.
Acting on the PIL, the high court had formed this seven member committee in November. "The committee has submitted its reports in the high court after reviewing the entire situation and holding discussions with various stakeholders of the matter. Court has scheduled the next hearing of the matter on January 25,"said Khirod Rout , the petitioners' counsel.
The seven-member committee constituted of retired Justice A K Parichha as the chairman, senior advocates Jagannath Patnaik and Kedar Nath Jena, educationists Faizan Mustafa (vice-chancellor of National Law University) and Manjushree Patnaik (member, state legal services authority) and student representatives of Ravenshaw University - Harishankar Rout (president) and Soubhagya Laxmi Kar (vice-president) as its members.
The court had formed the peace committee after the hostel allotment issue trigerred a students' agitation in Ravenshaw University. The boys wanted the hostel after the rennovation but the varsity authorities had declared to grant the hostel to the girls.
Demanding a change in decision, agitating students had virtually paralysed all academic activities in the varsity from past few months. This prompted former student union presidents of the varsity Akshaya Kumar Das , Chittaranjan Mohanty and Suvendu Mohanty to file a petition in the court for restoration of normalcy in the campus and a permanent solution to the East hostel issue.
Acting on the PIL, the high court had formed this seven member committee in November. "The committee has submitted its reports in the high court after reviewing the entire situation and holding discussions with various stakeholders of the matter. Court has scheduled the next hearing of the matter on January 25,"said Khirod Rout , the petitioners' counsel.
The seven-member committee constituted of retired Justice A K Parichha as the chairman, senior advocates Jagannath Patnaik and Kedar Nath Jena, educationists Faizan Mustafa (vice-chancellor of National Law University) and Manjushree Patnaik (member, state legal services authority) and student representatives of Ravenshaw University - Harishankar Rout (president) and Soubhagya Laxmi Kar (vice-president) as its members.
Read more: HC panel backs boys for East hostel occupancy - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/HC-panel-backs-boys-for-East-hostel-occupancy/articleshow/7329918.cms#ixzz1BfXRkPaR
The university has eleven hostels but only nine of them are functioning. The West Hostel had been converted into Ravenshaw Management Centre and now East Hostel is closed intensionally. Come forward to save it.
What's NOW ?........
Chancellor's representatives visit Ravenshaw
Correspondent
The team members refused to divulge anything and added that they would submit the report to the Governor
CUTTACK: A two-member team of Raj Bhawan visited the Ravenshaw University as Chancellor's representatives on Monday to collect facts about the ongoing fiasco pertaining to the contentious issue of allotment of hereditary East Hostel.
Debraj Mishra, an official in the rank of joint secretary and Sarada Mishra, PRO of Raj Bhawan visited the University campus and met the students as well as authorities and collected the facts.
The team members refused to divulge anything and simply added that they would submit the report to the Governor.
The team had visited the campus following a student-delegation petitioned the Chancellor last month alleging that the varsity authorities had not kept their words of allotting the Hostel to the bonafide students by September 15.
The students however, told the team that they were upset with the authorities for dillydallying with the assurances that was made earlier.
They told that the hostel was renovated with the purpose of handing it back to the boys as had been done since the hostels inception about 80 years ago.
Ravenshaw hostel issue reaches HC
October 03, 2010 2:15:47 PM
PNS | CUTTACK
Now the contentious East Hostel imbroglio of Ravenshaw University has reached the precincts of Odisha High Court. A former student leader of the Institution—Suvendu Mohanty on Wednesday filed a PIL urging the court to interfere in the matter to ensure that the heritage hostel university houses boy students as before.
Entangling the varsity vice chancellor Devdas Chhotray and local BJD MLA Pravat Biswal as respondents, the petitioner has alleged that the State Government as well as varsity authorities are playing with the sentiments of the students and are trying to create animosity between the boy and girl students of the prestigious university.
It may be recalled here that following a decision of the varsity to allot the hostel to girls from this year, tension mounted in the campus and some boy students resorted to a relay hunger strike. When the situation went out of the hand after the strike refused to die down for over two weeks, the V-C conceded to the demands of the students and gave written assurance that the hostel would be handed over to the students on September 15 and continue to house the boy students as before.
“But even after the deadline crossed, the authorities are still noncommittal as a result the hostel seekers are passing through horrendous times for their semester examinations are approaching fast”, Mohanty said.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/286653/Ravenshaw-hostel-issue-reaches-HC.html
Ravenshaw tense as hostel issue crops up again
CUTTACK: After nearly a fortnight long stillness in the campus of the Ravenshaw University over hostel issue, trouble began here on Thursday when some students forcibly entered into the contentious East Hostel of the campus and occupied it.
“We had no alternatives but to occupy the Hostel as the deadline for handing over the hostel to us was over on September 15”, said a student leader Ganesh Pradhan on Thursday. Since our exams are approaching, we need to settle down and study, he added.
It may be mentioned here that some boy students of the varsity had staged a relay hunger strike for nearly 14 days inside the campus demanding the renovated hostel should be handed over to them immediately and not to the girls as planned by the authorities.
The University Vice-Chancellor Devdas Chhotray however, on September 1 had assured the striking students that the hostel would continue to house boy students as before and it would be handed over to them by September 15 after completion of ongoing renovation work.
But unfortunately, the hostel renovation work was yet to complete even as the deadline for the same was over on Wednesday which led the students to forcibly occupy it on Thursday.
“We would continue to stay in the hostel even at the cost of sleeping on the floor but we would not vacate it now”, said an occupant of the hostel.
Hostel issue crops again in Ravenshaw
http://www.dailypioneer.com/283647/Hostel-issue-crops-again-in-Ravenshaw.htmlWhy and when ?
Ravenshaw students on hunger strike http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100820/jsp/orissa/story_12830244.jsp | |||
| OUR CORRESPONDENT | |||
Cuttack, Aug. 19: Five students of Ravenshaw University have been on an indefinite hunger strike since Wednesday afternoon, protesting delay in completion of renovation of East Hostel. The university authorities today held talks with students’ representatives but failed to break the impasse. B.K. Mishra, dean of administration of Ravenshaw University, said: “We have no choice but to wait for the Public Works Department (PWD) of the state government to hand over the East Hostel building after completing the renovation work. We are trying to explain the problem to the students. We think they will understand and withdraw their strike”. However, the students are apparently in no mood to withdraw their strike. “We had withdrawn our hunger strike on the same issue over a year ago after after the state higher education minister assured us that East Hostel would be ready within a year. This time we will withdraw our hunger strike only after the higher education minister comes here to give an explanation for the delay”, said Pratap Mohanty, a student of third year Geology. “The University authorities have been insensitive to the problems faced by students due to closure of East Hostel for nearly two years now,” said Saubhagya Swain, a student of third year Mathematics, who is also on a hunger strike. Though East Hostel had a capacity of 220, nearly 300 students were being accommodated there. The university authorities had officially stopped accommodating students in the 89-year-old hostel building in 2008. Official records indicated that the higher education minister had on July 23, 2009 issued orders for renovation of East Hostel. However, the decision was communicated to Ravenshaw University authorities after nearly three months. “As per the decision taken at the meeting held in the higher education minister’s chamber on July 23, 2009, the east hostel of the university is to be renovated immediately and students staying there are to be shifted to other places at the earliest,” deputy secretary S.K. Mishra said in a letter issued on October 20, 2009 to the Registrar of Ravenshaw University. “The East Hostel was handed over to the PWD in the last week of October 2009. So, we are left with no option but to wait for another two months as per the time frame fixed by the government”, the dean of administration told The Telegraph today. “Virtually no work is in progress at the East Hostel. The power has also been cut,” Ganeswar Pradhan, a third-year physics student who is on hunger strike said. The university has eleven hostels but only nine of them are functioning. The West Hostel had been converted into Ravenshaw Management Centre and East Hostel is closed for renovation. Why and when ? Ravenshaw students call off strike Correspondent
DCP also intervenes in the matter in an effort to break the deadlock Student delegation and local MLA hold talks with the V-C CUTTACK: After two-weeks of intense turmoil and a nightlong clamor on Tuesday, normalcy returned to Ravenshaw University campus on Wednesday when the striking students called off their indefinite hunger strike. The students relented only when University Vice-Chancellor Devdas Chhotray met them at the place of agitation and conceded their demands by giving in writing that the heritage East Hostel in the campus would continue to house undergraduate boy students as before. He also announced that along with 35 final year students, the renovated hostel would also accommodate 62 first year students from September 15, thereby conceding that the status of the contentious hostel cannot be changed for next three years. The century-old campus witnessed ruckus for past 15 days following a decision taken by the authorities to convert the eight-decade-old boys' hostel into girls' hostel. While some agitated students resorted to hunger strike, many took out rallies, disrupted classes, locked up the administrative blocks and finally staged a road blockade. Despite attempts by intelligentsia, including political leaders and educationists to break the deadlock, no sign of any letup was seen as both striking students and the VC refused to budge On Tuesday morning when the striking students stepped outside their campus to stage road blockade, DCP A N Sinha got an opportunity to intervene in the matter. After reasoning with the students, Mr Sinha assured them that the VC would hold discussions with them to resolve the issue, thereby giving an indication that the strike would end soon And in an impromptu meeting held inside V-C' chamber around late on Tuesday evening, a six-member student delegation along with local legislator Pravat Ranjan held parleys with the V-C and other varsity authorities. While the discussions stretched into the wee hours of Wednesday, the city DCP along with a platoon of armed police kept vigil as more than 200 students gheroaed the V-C's office shouting slogans. At around 3 am, the V-C came out of chamber to meet the fasting students where he gave in writing conceding all their demands. Ravenshaw stir ends: East hostel for boysCuttack: The 14-day stalemate in Ravenshaw University over hostel accommodation came to an end with the authorities finally agreeing to hand over the East hostel back to the boys’ on Wednesday. The impasse was over after the university Vice-Chancellor Devdas Chhotray, local legislator and registrar held discussion with a six-member students’ body for nearly eight long hours on Tuesday night. The meeting which started from 9 pm yesterday ended at 5 am today. “East hostel would be given to the boys and I have assured them in writing,” Chhotray said. The varsity authorities have assured the students in writing to hand over the East Hostel, which has been closed for renovation on September 15. It has also been decided to provide accommodation to 62 first year students along with 35 old students. “The vice-chancellor has assured that the hostel would continue to accommodate students,” Ganesh Pradhan, a student said. The students had launched a relay huger strike demanding immediate renovation work at the hostel and allow them to occupy it. However, they had also alleged that the authorities are contemplating to convert the boys’ hostel into girls’ hostel. Moreover, local legislator Pravat Biswal, district collector and others had earlier made fervent appeal to the students to call off their strike. But the students refused to relent until university Vice-Chancellor held discussion with them on the issue. |
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