On the 10th day of the strike, students cycled from Vishwavidyalaya station to the Lieutenant Governor’s house to seek his intervention on the matter regarding the construction of the 39 storey building in the North Campus.
The indefinite strike against the construction of the 39-storey building in the Campus by the students has been going on since 4th November 2019. Raja Chaudhary, Coordinator of the ‘DU Against 39 Storey Private Building Committee’ has been sitting on a hunger strike since the 10th November 2019, supported by other students, Gautam Barnwal and Kanika and a faculty of the university, Dr.Rasal Singh.
On the tenth day of the strike, a cycle rally was conducted from the place of protest near Vishvidyalaya metro station to the Lieutenant Governor’s house to seek his intervention in this matter.
Initially the Governor was reluctant to meet the student coordinator Mr. Chaudhary. However, after some deliberation, the governor conducted a meeting and appointed three officers, headed by Special Secretary Mr. Chanchal Yadav to inquire into the basis of permission given for the construction of the 39 storey private building by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi authorities and directed to submit the inquiry report within the next three days.
A letter by the students, addressed to the Lieutenant Governor, talks about the legality of the construction and the adverse effects of the constructed building. It asked the Lieutenant Governor to quash the project.
Mr. Chaudhary, in conversation with DU Beat, said, “This was the fifth day of my hunger strike. Yesterday, when we went to the LG’s house, we initially had to protest to be heard. However, now we have received assurance from the LG. We demand from the university as well that it take back the public land. Authorities from the DU are committed to building a hostel if we get the land back… Our strike will continue until we get an assurance from the Defence Ministry.”
The next meeting will be conducted after issue of the aforementioned report.
Feature Image Credits: Raja Chaudhary
Satviki Sanjay