MIT impasse : Students driven out of hostels
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, September 23 2013: The agitating students of Manipur Institute of Technology (MIT), who were driven out from their hostels on Sunday, have taken shelter at a nearby community hall at Tera Yengkhom Leirak,with the locals providing food and other support materials for them.

Demanding removal of the institute's Principal-in-charge Th Kulachandra Singh, the engineering students have been agitating since September 16 .

MIT is a constituent college of the centre-run Manipur University (MU) and currently it has around 400 students some of whom are from different parts of the country.

The students have accused Singh of mismanaging the institution in several aspects, resulting in the non-improvement of the academic atmosphere.

Misusing of the institution's fund, failure to develop infrastructure and non activation of placement for students are some of the allegations, the students have raised against Singh.

MIT students taking their meal

On Sunday, the police resorted to lathi charge, firing tear gas shells and mock bombs to disperse the students who were staging a protest demonstration at the institute's complex at Takyel here injuring at least seventeen of them including one from Noida.

The police action followed after 'on-the-spot' prohibitory order under 144 CrPC was imposed at the institute's compound.

"We have been putting up at this community hall since the students including hostellers were driven out from our institute yesterday afternoon.

In fact the MIT authorities had on September 19 issued an order asking the hostellers to vacate their hostels," said W Hemkumar, a student on Monday.

Though the students have already submitted a memorandum to the Vice Chancellor of MU highlighting their demands and grievances, no positive action has been taken, lamented Hemkumar.

"We will continue to agitate until our demands are complied with for the welfare of the institute in general and the students in particular," he said.

Soon after the hostellers numbering about 70 took shelter at the community hall, local clubs, philanthropists and student bodies provided required basic needs like food, water and clothings, Hemkumar said.

On the other hand, the governing body of the institute will convene an emergency meeting to discuss the issue particularly the charges leveled against the Principal by the agitating students, official sources said.

The Democratic Students' Alliance of Manipur (DESAM), while deciding to back the MIT students' stir, has stated that the issue has snowballed out of proportion as the MU Vice Chancellor was listening only to the institute's Principal-in-charge.

Though MIT collects placement fee, infrastructure fee, medical fee and magazine fee during admission, no change can be seen at the institute, said the student body's general secretary A Thoithoi.