Dozens of students affiliated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) were detained Monday after they tried to take out a march towards the Civil Secretariat to protest against the admission process in the Cluster University of Jammu. Among other prominent demands, the ABVP is seeking fee reduction for the current academic year in view of coronavirus pandemic, reopening of the portal for fresh admissions and refunding of the hostel fees as there was no student on the campus. Police used mild lathi-charge on the students after they blocked the main road leading to the Civil Secretariat, the seat of the Jammu and Kashmir administration. “We were forced on the roads after no action was taken on the memorandum which we had already submitted to the vice-chancellor and the deputy magistrate last week,” State Secretary of ABVP Mukesh Manhas said. He said the admission process in the university needs to be reviewed immediately as every year the intake capacity is being decreased instead of increasing the infrastructure in the affiliated colleges to take more students. “We will continue our protest till our demands are met,” he said. The protesting students raised slogans against the administration and threatened to intensify the agitation if their demands were not met. Some of the students accused police of highhandedness and claimed that they were roughed up by the policemen while being chased away.
