Students of National Law University, Odisha are on an indefinite strike against the university administration. Since Wednesday morning, July 24, the students are protesting against administrative negligence in providing basic facilities to the students living in university hostels.
“Our protest is mainly about administrative lethargy. We are on indefinite protest and it will continue until our demands are met, which are non- negotiable,” told a member of the Student Body, who did not want to be named, to The Logical Indian.
Nearly 80 Girl Students Living In Dilapidated Hostel Building
The biggest problem students are facing is of hostel. Nearly 80 girl students are living in a dilapidated hostel building (Girl Hostel-2) of the university. The girls have been living in the dilapidated building for the past two years.
“In the dilapidated hostel building, nearly 70-80 girls are living under great mental distress. Corridor of the hostel is filled with ankle-deep water, walls are leaking, there is fungus in the washrooms. It is impossible to live in such a horrible condition,” said a third-year BA LLB student.
“It is very risky to be here, the room is leaking from everywhere and black liquid comes out from bulb holders. Even if the room is closed from every side, the room gets filled with water once it rains. There is fungus everywhere, even mushroom plants have cropped up in our hostel premises,” told another third-year BA LLB student.
“It is Odisha and the weather here is very erratic, it is even raining now. The rains have aggravated the problem. Many students have got electrocuted, There is dampness everywhere,” said a BA LLB student, who is in her fourth year.
“After several complaints, the repairing work has started but it is going too slow. In the past 20 days, they have been able to install just one pipe. With this pace, it will take more than a half-year to finish the work,” told a first-year BA LLB student.
The construction of Girl Hostel-2 started at the beginning of the 2017-18 session and it was supposed to be a three-floored building. The construction began two-three months later and only two out of three floors of the building were built, students were asked to move into the half-constructed building. “Initially, we were reluctant to move into the hostel, but after assurances from the administration that all problems will be taken care of, we decided to shift,” said a third-year BA LLB student.
“We joined the university in 2017, initially, we were accommodated in GH-1 hostel on room sharing basis, but later in the first week of Oct 2017, we were asked to move to the GH-2 hostel, which was not fully constructed,” she added.
Despite multiples complaints from the students, there has been very little response from the administration. “In this regard, we approached the vice-chancellor multiple times and every time there is only assurance,” said a member of the student body. “In response to our requests, the VC has said that I am here to do my duty and not satisfy your demands,” she added.
No Proper Library
Another problem the students are facing is of the library. “A library is essential for law students and that too has not been properly facilitated by the administration. We have been given a library of three rooms for 800 people and it cannot house more than 80 people,” said a fourth-year BA LLB student.
“The construction of the library, which was supposed to be Asia’s biggest library is pending for the last five years,” he added.
Note: Vice-chancellor Srikrishna Deva Rao cut the call when The Logical Indian tried to contact him.
