KU students oppose mess privatisation

Warangal: The students of Kakatiya University have dined on the roads on the University campus here on Sunday in protest against the privatization of the university mess by the university authorities. The students under the banner of ‘University Parirakshana Samithi’ have conducted ‘Vanta-vaarpu’ in the morning and later had their lunch at a site near the university administrative building. They demanded that the University Vice-Chancellor Prof. B Venkata Rathnam should forthwith withdraw the orders of giving mess contract to private people.

Condemning the University’s decision to privatize the mess despite opposition from the students, Kakatiya University Research Scholars’ Association (KURSA) President O.Rajender said their cause was not isolated as they have the backing of a section of the university faculty too.

“The university authorities have been acting in an autocratic manner and neglecting the interests of the students. The argument that university has been incurring huge financial losses on account of running the mess was totally wrong, commented KURSA leaders. The officials should not be profit-minded but have to think about the welfare of the students”, opined the KURSA leaders. They observed that the university was suffering losses due to mismanagement by the officials who are responsible for the operations of the mess and not because of feeding the students. The protesting students have warned of intensifying the agitation if their demands are not met at once. The Samithi activists have been on agitation since August 5, 2013.