IMSR students shift protest to Azad Maidan, ask CM for help
More than 90 students from the Institute of Medical Science and Research (IMSR) in Satara, started an indefinite hunger strike there on January 18 and have come all the way to Azad Maidan, Mumbai on Wednesday. The students were on a strike in their college campus for seven days, and 35 days in front of the collector’s office but their demands have not been met.
The medical students are urging the state government to regularise the medical college after Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) deemed theirs unfit and transferred the students to different medical colleges.
Abhishek Marathe, a medical student, said, “Even after taking admission in the college in 2014, they have not given us results of the first year exams neither have we been transferred to a regularised college.”
The reason being, their admissions were termed irregular by DMER, because the college did not follow the centralised admission process. While the state government has submitted a written support for the students in the Supreme Court, there is no implementation of state's orders of accommodating them in regularised colleges.
Ajay Thorat, a student, said they were finally allowed to appear for exams following a 2015 Supreme Court order and the college was asked to pay a penalty of Rs 20 lakh per student.
“It was only after 10 percent of the penalty was paid that we were allowed to appear for exams, but results were withheld. We then approached the admission regulation committee, but after that, only those who failed were asked to appear for re-exam,” added Marathe.
The students were holding placard which read ‘we would not give up’ and ‘save our career Chief Minister’, and have demanded Chief Minister to pay heed to their issue.
“We are on a hunger strike for the past 44 days but no one has come forward to help us and we were told by the government that after civic elections are completed they will help us but now no one is ready to hear our plea, ” added Thorat.