Chandigarh,15,Apr:The chain fast by the students and teachers demanding central university status for Panjab University entered the ninth day today. With the passage of every day the movement of the central status to P.U. has picked up. Teachers, students and research scholars are queuing up for the chain fast. Today four teachers, namely, Dr D.K Dhawan, Dr D.V. Rai, and Dr M.L. Garg all from the department of Biophysics, Dr Loveleen Kaur, Regional Resource Centre, and two research scholars Sh Anshu Malhotra and Sh Praveen Nair from the department of Biophysics sat on the fast. A large number of teachers and students have volunteered for the peaceful protest against the indifference of political parties towards the future of P.U. as an institute of national importance.
Tomorrow on the tenth day of the Chain Fast, Joint Action Committee has given a call for the mass public rally in front of the University Guest House at the site of the Chain Fast. A large number of students, teachers and employees are joining the rally. Mr Preet, President P.U. Lab Technical Staff Association has said that all the technical staff is ready to join the ongoing agitation and will sit on the chain fast.
In the meanwhile Prof. Anil Sarwal, Vice President PCCTU has intimated JAC leadership that the teachers of various colleges of the city are eager to join the mass protest to be organized on the campus tomorrow. At the same time JAC leadership has started contacting various organizations/ associations of the city in order to highlight the discriminatory attitude of the Punjab Government towards the city beautiful in general and P.U. in particular.
Prof. A.S. Ahluwalia, Chairman JAC has reiterated its appeal to all the alumni of Panjab University to come forward and make request to the Hon’ble Prime Minister to intervene at this critical juncture and declare P.U. a central university so that it could be pulled out of the current financial crunch.