Another demonstrator hospitalised as NEHU students' hunger strike enters day 5

Shillong, Nov 10: The condition of an agitating student is reported to be critical following his hospitalisation as the students of the North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) continued their hunger strike for the fifth day on Saturday, demanding ouster of four University officials.

Several students have been hospitalised since the last few days after undertaking the hunger strike. On Saturday morning, a student was shifted from the venue to the Shillong Civil Hospital.

Later, the attending doctors referred him to the North East Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences.

NEHU Vice Chancellor Prabha Shankar Shukla is under fire for the appointment of the four officials who the students term as "inefficient" and as having been recruited without following the due process.

Shukla has been trying unsuccessfully to convene an emergency meeting of the executive council of the university and has kept mum following the protest.

Meanwhile, the students staged a protest outside Shukla's official bungalow within the campus.

Meghalaya Governor CH Viyashankar, who is also the Rector of the University, has appealed to the students to call off their strike and assured that he would try to resolve the crisis.

State Education Minister Rakkam Sangma said that he is out of station on an election campaign and would try to convene a meeting between the NEHU administration and the agitating students, on his return.

"NEHU is a Central university and this is an internal matter of the varsity. Nonetheless, I will try to convene a meeting between the VC and the agitating students," Sangma said over phone from the Garo Hills.

He further said that officials are assessing the situation, and hoped that a resolution would be worked out soon.

"The academic session should not be hampered and this crisis must be resolved as soon as possible," he added. Due to the protest, the university has been locked down since Tuesday evening.