Mohan Kuthar

Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (MS)

Mangaluru, Nov 15: Students of Mangalore University staged a large protest in front of the university’s administrative office, led by the ABVP, to condemn issues such as delays in marks cards, unscientific fee hikes for college and examinations, and chaos in the UUCMS system. Students from various district colleges participated, intending to gherao the vice-chancellor's office.

Barricades were set up near the administrative block to prevent the entry of protesting students who arrived in buses. The students chanted slogans and attempted to enter the administrative office, but the police intervened. In the ensuing chaos, the glass entrance door of the block was broken. A woman police constable sustained a hand injury, another officer was hurt by a glass shard, and one student was also injured. The university’s vice-chancellor, P L Dharma, expressed displeasure over the students’ actions, stating that vandalism is unacceptable.

Dharma urged the students not to create a disturbance under the guise of a peaceful protest. He listened to their grievances and accepted their memorandum of demands. He explained the difficulties faced by the university but, when the students were unsatisfied with his response, he promised to forward their concerns to the government. The students demanded a specific date by which their issues would be resolved, threatening a stronger protest by evening if no clear timeline was provided. Dharma then assured them that the matter would be discussed at the Syndicate meeting on November 15, but the students continued their protest, dissatisfied with his answer.

ACP Dhanya Nayak intervened, and eventually, vice-chancellor P L Dharma arrived at the protest site with Syndicate members, promising to send the university registrar to Bengaluru on Saturday. Following this assurance, the students ended their protest.

The students criticized the police for failing to manage the crowd, noting that only five to six officers were present to control over 1,000 protesters. They claimed that the glass door was broken by a police baton.