PU in spot over mega events on campus
Back-to-back cancelled events, heavy police deployment at Student Centre, students’ political groups demanding resignation from authorities, some harsh decisions and a murder of a student — it seems that the Panjab University campus has been shaken to the core within the last few weeks.
The recent incidents called for addressing some serious issues regarding availability of a proper infrastructure on the campus for hosting some big events, upgrading the security staff crunch, and to check whether multiple star nights were scheduled under some political pressure.
After the death of 22-year-old Aditya Thakur, students created ruckus outside the Dean Students’ Welfare (DSW) office. Showing solidarity with Thakur, who was a student of UIET, institute students held a protest march today. The students have also threatened to close the department in protest.
However, this was not a sudden reaction. After cancellation of two star nights — one of Arjan Dhillon (due to heavy rush of masses) and the other of Gurdas Mann (due to non-issuance of NOC by the authorities concerned) — the university authorities have been on the target of the protesting students.
After cancellation of two shows, the university allowed hosting of the third event — an evening performance by Haryana’s singer Masoom Sharma on the south campus (as per reformed rules of permission). However, the matter worsened as Thakur and his three friends were stabbed badly after an altercation broke out between two groups. “The outburst was not sudden. For the last weeks, the students have been protesting regarding the hosting of the fest and about its expenditure. Thakur’s death just added fire to the protest. The university officials and the protesting students must understand that a life has been lost on the campus, and there should be a collective effort to stop such incidents. There’s a dire need to form rules and regulations for organising big events in the campus... and it should be followed by all (authorities and political groups),” said an official seeking anonymity.
“Having proper infrastructure is another aspect for hosting such big events in the open. If you have a function at home, you just can’t open doors for everyone. The main campus is easy to gain access to, while the south campus lacks proper system in terms of dealing with outsiders. Even during the students’ election, the university alone cannot handle the event. So, a proper plan is needed for hosting big events, especially involving students,” added Preetinder, a student.
Earlier, the university used to host one single event (star night) for its students and faculty members. However, in recent years, as a mixed house gets elected for the Panjab University Campus Students Council, every elected political group tries to organise separate star nights — repeated this year as well. The university which has only a limited number of security personnel at their helm is surely not ready to host such back-to-back big events given the current strength of over 6,000 students . Sources claimed that after this particular incident the university has decided not to host multiple events but only one, and maybe none if the political groups disagree with this decision. “These events are mainly organised for students, and many famous singers have performed here in the past. However, things have changed now. There should be a proper plan on crowd management, restrict entry inside the venue and other steps ensuring safety of the students. Even the NOC cannot be given on a mere basis of a handmade drawing,” said Anhsikha, a student.
