The health condition of students of the Government college on a hunger-strike for about four days now has started exhibiting the effects of protracted hunger-strike. There has been a drop in the condition of the protesters on hunger strike but with the regional MlA Rajendra Singh Bhandari and State Government not yet taking any action in this case, the students of the Government college blocked traffic on the national highway to Badrinath in support of their demands on Sunday.
The Government college at Joshimath has been suffering for some years now due to various issues including the posts of full time college principal and lecturers remaining vacant.
While the posts of full-time college principal and lecturers have remained unoccupied for some years now, on the other side the land is not being transferred to the college. The students cite such reasons to State that they had to resort to taking to the roads in protest against the protracted anomalies and continuing apathy of the State authorities in this concern.
It should be mentioned here that the former students union head of the Joshimath Government college, Anshul Bhujwan and lakshman Butola have been on a fast unto death for about four days now on the college premises. Despite the deterioration in their health conditions, the students have averred that they will continue their protest movement till their demands are met by the authorities.
The college students who have been demanding various measures including appointment of full time staff on important positions to facilitate proper academic activity, have become exasperated with the authorities apparently remaining apathetic towards their issue.
Observers point out that the Government college in Joshimath is an important educational institute especially for the youngsters living in the remote mountain villages in the surrounding areas. Though some corrective measures were taken in the past with the resulting improvement also being experienced, the functioning of the Joshimath college is yet to be facilitated as demanded by the students.
Frustrated by the Government’s apathy, the protesting students took to the road on Sunday to elicit focus on their issues.