A section of students from IIT-Madras held a rally inside the campus on Thursday evening, as part of the ongoing protests against the IIT management’s “unilateral” and “unnanounced” closure of Krishna Gate.
One of the students who took part in the protest said there was a considerably high turnout on Thursday, compared to protests carried out in the last week of December, soon after the closure. “Now that the vacation is over, more students have returned to the campus. They are also against the closure. We will continue our protests,” he said.
After carrying out the rally, the students reportedly blocked the roads at the Gajendra Circle for a short while, before dispersing. The students are also preparing a petition to the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
“We have collected around 1,500 signatures in the last few days,” said another student.
Disagreeing with the management’s rationale that the closure was to ensure the safety of girl students, particularly those residing in a hostel near the gate, the students said that the closure has caused great inconvenience to both students residing in the campus and the scholars residing close to the Krishna Gate.
“It was us who led the protests today. We never felt unsafe. There must be other ulterior reasons for the closure,” a girl student, who took part in the protest, said. The locals residing outside the gate also staged a protest last week.
Meanwhile, the administration has stood by its decision. Earlier this week, the administration sent an elaborate email to all students, explaining why the closure was needed, despite some inconveniences to the students, and appealed for cooperation.
