Kashmir University students demand refund of hostel fee

Srinagar: Kashmir University students who are availing hostel accommodation have demanded refund as they have not been into the hostels since August 5 last year and then COVID-19 lockdown.

Hundreds of students from Kashmir valley avail hostel facility in the university and each student pays over rupees 40,000 as yearly hostel fee.

The students have written to the Vice Chancellor and urged the intervention of the LG, who is also the Chancellor of the KU reported news agency KDC.

One of the students who is member of Kashmir university student Guild (KUSG) said no studenys stayed in the hostels from August 2019 until today, except or for two weeks ahead of COVID outbreak in March.

“We demand the university authorities refund our fee which we had paid in advance. The hostels were reopened in February this year after remaining closed for seven months due to shutdown imposed by the government after abrogation of the Article 370. After winter vacations hostels were reopened and some students from 2018 got accommodation in the hostel and paid some approximate rupees 40000 rupees but after that there was covid lockdown from March 22, 2020 and students had to vacate. We stayed in the hostels for a month. So, we demand the money to be refunded,” the student said.

“We approached the Vice Chancellor’s office, his personal assistant said they will take the issue positively, but we are yet to receive a response from them”.

When these students approached Provost boys hostel, Aejaz Ahmed, he had said they are working on the issue from last two months.

The students were told by the Provost that COVID 19 lockdown period might be refunded.

While talking this reporter , provost boys hostel, Aejaz Ahmad he said, “We have taken the issue with higher administration and any decision in this will be taken in due course of time. We will have to sort out how much time a student has stayed at the hostel before taking their demand into consideration”.

“Law batch 2015 had paid there hostel dues for 2016 uprising period. Now they did pay for this pandemic period. They (law students) should have been compensated, he added.

Law batch 2015 alongside PG batch 2018 has come up with the demand as there are only two months left for their course to complete. (KDC)