Presidency University is yet to find a superintendent to manage Eden Hindu Hostel.
As a result the mess service has not resumed even three weeks after some of the students forced their way into the hostel to protest the prolonged closure.
Students are being forced to buy their meals from the local eateries in the absence of the mess facility.
Admission into the hostel that can accommodate over 100 students through a formal process has remained stalled and many students are still being forced to stay at PG accommodations.
However, the university has started to issue admission forms for girls’ hostel from Tuesday.
A notice posted on the website by the dean of students (Arun Maiti) on March 11 — that marked the 25th day of a students’ sit-in protest against the closure of the hostel — had sought applications for the superintendent posts in boys’ and girls’ hostels by March 31.
Sources on the campus said the university has not found any teacher who is willing to become the superintendent of the Hindu hostel.
A teacher, who had previously served as the superintendent at the girls’ hostel (in Salt Lake), has agreed to continue.
Aryan Agrahari, a postgraduate economics student from Purulia, said the meals from outside cost Rs 100 a day on average.
“Why do we have to suffer because of the failure of the university to appoint a superintendent?” he said.
A day after the protesting students had stormed the Hindu hostel on March 17, education minister Bratya Basu, a former student of the erstwhile Presidency College, called Presidency vice-chancellor Anuradha Lohia and advised her to reopen the hostels immediately by taking necessary steps.
“Still nothing happened,” said another student Debabrata Mondal.
A university official last month said that the teachers, who used to act as superintendent and assistant superintendent, had resigned in January 2020 after a section of students started an indefinite sit-in over alleged delay in repair of wards 3, 4 and 5 of the hostel.
Thereafter, the campus had to be shut because of Covid.
Now, no teacher is willing to take the responsibility following fear of getting involved in the students’ unrest, he said.
When contacted, dean Maiti declined to comment.
The university has again decided to approach the teachers for becoming superintendent.
