http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070425/asp/jamshedpur/story_7691800.asp
Stir after slash in stipend PRIYA ABRAHAM Bhubaneswar, April 24: Tension gripped the Utkal University campus today after more than 200 students locked the entrance gates for about five hours protesting the changes made in the stipend for the SC/ST students. The students had gheraoed vice-chancellor L.N. Mishra inside his chamber for more than three hours yesterday. "We did not receive a satisfactory answer from the vice-chancellor and therefore, are continuing the protest," said Tapas Sethi, a student. The irate students today reached the administrative chamber shouting slogans and locked up the vice-chancellor's chamber and the adjoining offices. The protest continued between 10 am and 3 pm. The annual stipend budget for SC/ST candidates that amounted to Rs 26 lakh till last year has been slashed to Rs 15 lakh triggering resentment among the students. The college has a total of 278 SC/ST students who get the stipend. With the new amendments, the students will be deprived of the exemption in the examination fee, re-admission fee, and hostel fee. "This is injustice to deprive students like us. While the cost of living is increasing and so is educational material, including books and stationery, how can the government slash the amount? It is simply inhuman. Instead, we demand a hike in the amount," said Saraswati Guhar, a student. L.N. Mishra, vice-chancellor of the university, said he has already sent a letter to the SC/ST department. The department would be resolving the issue by the next week, he hoped.
