Azim Premji students begin hunger strike over bus fee waiver

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Students of Azim Premji University (APU) in the city on Wednesday commenced a hunger strike after their demands to waive shuttle bus fees was not fulfilled. On Tuesday, the students met with Vice Chancellor Indu Prasad. They claimed that without even glancing at their petition, the VC announced that the fees cannot be revoked.

Along with this, she allegedly urged them to move the protest off-campus in light of the university fest coming up. The shuttle bus services were initiated last year when the students requested the authorities to provide a safer mode of transport from the university hostel to the campus.

This has resulted in students, even those who are on 100 percent scholarships, paying over Rs 8,500 for bus services. The students have said that the fees are contrary to the University Grants Commission (UGC) rules as they have not been mentioned on the website of the university.

They have also claimed that they were informed about the fees only after they completed their admission procedure. The PG students of the university currently are living outside the campus, in external residences close to 3 km away from the campus premises. This is because the university is yet to inaugurate hostels on campus. The university moved to Sarjapur in 2020, to a relatively isolated area.