The students’ protest at National Institute of Technology,
Durgapur (NITD) culminated today with the resignation of the director Dr.
Tarkeshwar Kumar. PaGaLGuY spoke to Prof. A.K. Bhattacharya, Dean (Student
Welfare), and he confirmed that Dr. Kumar had submitted his resignation. When
asked about the suspension of the doctors at the Medical Unit (MU), he said it
would be decided only after a new director is appointed.
Students at the campus were in a happy mood, as their main demand
has been accepted. Sohom Chatterjee, a third year student at NITD, said “The
resignation is the first and important step in our fight. This has proved that
when students come together for a cause they can bring about changes.” Adding a
word of caution, he said, “It is still a long way to go.”
Protests at NITD started with death of Prosenjit Sarkar, a
fourth year student, after the initial treatment was administered at MU on
campus. Students had alleged callous attitudes on part of the director and doctor,
holding them responsible for the incident. Officials from the Ministry of Human
Resource Development (MHRD) also visited NITD last week. Sources stated that the
MHRD had asked Dr. Kumar to quit. However, PaGaLGuY could not independently confirm
that the Ministry had given the directive.