A protest was staged by students, under the aegis of the Students Federation of India (SFI), seeking a solution to their long pending issues like hike in scholarships and mess charges for hostel students and release of the fee-reimbursement amounts payable to them, here on Monday.
They first staged a protest opposite the Gandhi statue near GVMC and later took out a rally to the Collectorate. SFI city secretary K. Prithviraj said the Chief Minister had promised twice in the past that the mess charges would be hiked by 50 per cent but it was not implemented till date. During the last three years, the scholarships and fee re-imbursement were not paid to students fully. There were vacant posts of teachers from the primary-school to university level but they were not filled so far.
He said there were committees to hike the salaries of MLA and Ministers but no such thing for socially and economically poor students.
The SFI leaders demanded formation of a committee to deliberate on the problems of students. The protesters were stopped at the gates of the Collectorate and taken away in vans by the police forcibly.
