On Saturday, following the meeting of the High Power Committee with the student representatives, five hundred and six students submitted their resignation. The students were extremely dissatisfied with the outcome of the meeting. The tone adopted by the committee members was highly discouraging and they constantly pressurized the students to drop the demand of the director’s resignation. The students reiterated their primary demand of the director’s resignation and demonstrated before the high power committee. To express their dissatisfaction with the no-show by the high power committee, the students blocked the main gate of the campus and delayed the departure of the members of the committee. The committee did not provide any solution to the students’ problems and did not provide any written assurance of solving the same problems in the future. There was a high police presence in the campus and the police arrived armed with lathis and water cannons. The police tried to threaten the students to call off the protest and make way for the exit of the committee members. Despite this the students continued to shout slogans in front of the committee members. The students have decided to continue their stir from Monday although they have decided to break their hunger strike. ABVP continue to support the strike and two members of ABVP joined the students to protest in front of the high power committee.
On the fifteenth day of the strike, NIPER students decided to register their protest in a novel way. Serving the society and at the same time protesting peacefully, NIPER students sacrificed their afternoon lunch for the hungry in Mohali. Nearly 800 hungry people had their afternoon meal outside the NIPER gate. The students participated in serving food to all the people. Following the disappointing outcome of the meetings with the high power committee, students have decided to continue their protest and maintain their demand for the resignation of the director. Earlier in the day, the students blocked entry of administrative personnel’s into the administrative buildings. The students feel exasperated by the indifference of the NIPER administration towards the protesters. We are made to feel like outsiders within our own institute. Despite the resignation of 506 students, the NIPER administration remains unmoved and refuses to take any action on the students’ demands. The students are waiting for some action to be taken by the ministry or BOG, as the high power committee had promised to forward the students’ issues to the higher authorities.
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