Students from a hostel in Ballari protested outside the residence of Ballari Deputy Commissioner Pavan Kumar Malapati on Wednesday late at night. The hostel administration responded by expelling the students. The students had carried a bucket filled with chicken curry claiming that the food provided at the hostel was poor quality. A complaint was made regarding the allegedly substandard meals provided by the hostel.
In response to the demonstration, the DC ordered the Education Department to take action against 25 students. The students filed a complaint against Mr. Malapati in Bengaluru with the state chief secretary. The students claimed that the chicken dinner provided to them in the Hostel was of low quality and had no flavor.
Upon the arrival of the students at the DC’s residence, the DC urged the students to leave when he observed them approaching his house late at night carrying a bucket of curry, but they persisted in their protest.
B Sriramulu, the minister in charge of Ballari, criticized the students for arriving to demonstrate in front of the DC’s house late at night. “Let the children notify the DC in writing if they have concerns. We’ll make sure the situation is looked at,” he said. The administration is still unsure of the proper course of action to be taken in response to the student protesters.
Siddaramaiah demands suspension of DC
On Friday, Siddaramaiah, a prominent member of the Congress and a former chief minister, urged the state government to remove the Ballari deputy commissioner for telling college students to leave the hostel after they criticized the hostel’s subpar food service.
“If the Ballari deputy commissioner at least had some humanity, he should have responded to the problems of the students immediately and instead, has ordered their eviction from the hostel overnight. This is totally inhuman,” He remarked and enquired as to whether the deputy commissioner regarded himself as the king of some realm.
According to Siddaramaiah, the deputy commissioner should have been suspended for treating the students inhumanely and immediate action should have been taken by the minister in charge of the Ballari district, B Sriramulu. “Instead, the minister abused the students when they went to narrate their plight and lodge a complaint. The minister has the audacity to tell the students to go and apologize before the IAS officer for their protest near his residence in the night.”
“If Sriramulu cannot ensure proper and quality food to the hostel students, how can he be expected to protect the interests of the poor and downtrodden and students,” he asked.
