The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Fee hike sparks off protest

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Thursday, Jul 17, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Fee hike sparks off protest

Withdrawal of cases against student unions demanded

Contentious issue: Activists of students’ organisations clash with police at the EAMCET counselling centre at Masab Tank on Wednesday.

HYDERABAD: Demanding withdrawal of hike in the engineering fee and reduction in the management quota from 25 per cent to 20 per cent, different student unions staged dharnas at the main counselling centre in Masab Tank on Wednesday.

Activists of SFI, AISF and AIYF were the first to reach the venue and try to enter the counselling centre. The police, however, foiled their attempt by blocking the entry gate with barbed wires. They demanded that the Minister announce the reduction before commencing the counselling.

‘Helping the rich’

A statement from the SFI said that police lathi-charged them for no reason and demanded that the cases booked against them be withdrawn immediately.

Later, students affiliated to the Telugu Nadu Student Federation (TNSF) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged similar protests.

Nannuri Narsi Reddy, president of TNSF said the increase of fee when middle-class was already burdened with price rise was inhuman. He accused the government of being interested in helping the rich college managements ignoring the interests of lakhs of students for obvious reasons.

ABVP State technical cell convener Mohana Chary expressed similar opinion and warned of continued agitation. The protesters were picked up by the police and released late in the evening.

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Andhra Pradesh