Andhra University students stage lightning dharna

Visakhapatnam: Vexed with the acute water scarcity, hundreds of Arts College hostel inmates of Andhra University staged a lightning dharna. There are over 1,400 inmates in the four hostel blocks on the campus.

For the last one month, the students are lodging complaints with the authorities concerned stating that there is shortage of water in the hostel blocks, but the officials did not respond.

On Wednesday, all the students faced water shortage at the toilets and called up the hostel management to provide water. As there is no response from the officials, all the students gathered and decided to stage a dharna in front of Vice Chancellor’s residence.

At 12.30 am in the night, hundreds of students rushed to the Vice-Chancellor’s residence and staged the dharna. Later, they rushed to the Registrar’s residence and raised slogans demanding that the management provide water to their hostels.

The students raised slogans against the Andhra University authorities and alleged that the pump operators and engineering department staff neglected the pipeline and water tank renovation works since long time causing water problem on the campus.

On receiving information, police rushed to the spot and asked the management to respond and pacify the students. Registrar of Andhra University G Uma Maheswara Rao ventured out of his residence and held discussions with students.

Later, the Andhra University officials with the support of the police visited the hostel blocks and forcibly shifted the non-boarders from the hostels. After the verification of the inmates, the university officials assured the inmates that the problem would be solved.