GUWAHATI: Tension prevailed on late Monday night of May 25 at Gauhati University as students from multiple organisations including ruling party-backed, opposition-linked, and independent student bodies, launched a joint agitation demanding implementation of free admissions under the state’s fee waiver scheme along with reduction of various university fees.
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The protest escalated after hundreds of students blocked the national highway near the university campus, causing massive traffic congestion and disrupting movement in the area. Demonstrators alleged that many students were still being denied fee concessions and were struggling with increasing admission-related expenses despite repeated appeals to the authorities.
Amid the growing unrest, Vice-Chancellor Nani Gopal Mahanta reached the protest site late at night and appealed to students to withdraw the highway blockade, citing inconvenience to the public and possible obstruction of emergency services.
Addressing the protesters, the VC said he had already held discussions with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma regarding the issue. According to him, the Chief Minister had agreed in principle to meet a delegation of students, although the official date for the meeting has not yet been finalised.
The Vice-Chancellor also assured that the university had independently decided to extend fee waivers to eligible Five-Year Integrated Master's Programme (FYIMP) students even as talks with the state government over financial assistance are still underway.
He further urged students to continue their democratic protests within the campus premises instead of blocking public roads. “You can protest in my office; there is no issue. But not like this, not on the streets,” he told the agitating students.
However, protesting students maintained that the agitation would continue until their demands are fulfilled and warned that the university gates would remain shut if no concrete action is taken.