Jhansi: A five-day protest by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Mahavidyalaya in Banda ended on Friday after the district administration gave a written, time-bound assurance to address students’ demands over infrastructure and academic facilities. The administration set deadlines for making the women’s hostel operational, completing sanitation and classroom works, displaying the college timetable and improving sports facilities.DM Amit Asheri met ABVP representatives and received their memorandum in the presence of the superintendent of police, additional district magistrate, regional higher education officer and city magistrate. The administration assured that the women’s hostel would be made operational by Nov 1, while administrative and other committees would be constituted by Oct 4 and the college timetable displayed by Oct 7.According to the written assurance, sanitation and classroom-related works are to be completed by Oct 17, while campus cleanliness and beautification have been given an Oct 25 deadline. Sports equipment will be inspected and necessary action taken by November 3, while the boundary wall around the sports ground is to be constructed within three months.The students had also sought repairs to dilapidated college buildings, essential books for the library, better sanitation facilities, regular classes and improvements to sports facilities.ABVP Banda district convener Kartikeya Gupta said the organisation withdrew the protest after receiving the written assurance and expected all works to be completed within the stipulated timelines.College principal KS Kushwaha said the pending works could not be undertaken earlier because transactions from the college bank account had been stopped due to technical issues. He said the problem had now been resolved and assured that the pending works would be completed within the stipulated period.The college was established in 1962, while the girls’ hostel building was constructed in 2016. Students alleged that despite standing for nearly a decade, the hostel building had not been equipped with basic amenities and had remained unused, with the structure allegedly being used as a cowshed for several years.
