Tamil Nadu - Tirunelveli   

Protesting Siddha college students close down gates

TIRUNELVELI: The protesting students of Government Siddha Medical College, who are agitating since Monday against the decision to shift the examination centre from their college to Tirunelveli Medical College, closed down the main entrance, office and even the Principal's chamber on Tuesday.

The students have now decided to boycott the examination scheduled to start on Wednesday (September 14).

After the MGR Medical University reportedly decided to shift the examination centre for the post-graduate students of Government Siddha Medical College at Palayamkottai to Tirunelveli Medical College, the students, vehemently resisting this move, laid siege to the Principal's chamber on Monday. The protest was given-up only around 9 p.m. following an assurance given by the college administration that they would speak to their higher-ups in Chennai and arrive at an early amicable solution.

Contrary to this assurance, the question papers for the examinations reached Tirunelveli Medical College and the answer sheets were about to be taken from the Siddha Medical College premises on Tuesday.

In a bid to prevent the answer sheets being taken from their college, the protesting PG students forcibly closed down the doors of the office, Principal's chamber and even the college entrances on the Centenary Hall Road as well as on the Langarhana Street at 3 p.m. However, the students allowed the patients and the visitors to use the small gate near the Langarhana Street to go to the Siddha Medical College Hospital and the college as well.

Since the protestors closed the office room even as the staff were sitting inside, they had to jump through the window to move out of their workplace. “We tried umpteen times to contact the MGR Medical University officials but in vain. They even refuse to accept our fax messages, narrating our protest and the rationale behind it. Frustrated over this, we've closed down the college as well as the office. Our protest, which is supported by the under-graduate students also, will assume greater momentum in the days to come,” they said.

Assistant Commissioner of Police, Palayamkottai Ramachandran, who rushed to the college, held talks with the Principal, M. Allimuthu, and later asked the students to meet District Collector M. Jayaraman to find a solution. As the students' meeting with the Collector also failed to evolve a solution, the students decided to boycott the examination scheduled for Wednesday at 9.30 a.m.

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