Dengue, viral fever outbreak, allege GNLU students, boycott classes

The student body confirmed that after assurances from the administration of meeting their demands, the protest was called off till the Wednesday meeting.

Alleging an outbreak of dengue and other infections due to unhygienic conditions on campus, students at Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Gandhinagar, boycotted classes and sat on a dharna on Tuesday.

They claimed that 10 per cent of the university’s student population had contracted dengue and nearly 20 per cent had fallen sick.

The students demanded that the constitution of an independent monitoring committee, with ‘meaningful’ student representation and external experts, was necessary to monitor drinking-water quality, food safety, hostel sanitation, waste and sewage management, vector control, medical facilities, ambulance and emergency preparedness, and implementation of corrective measures.

The campus has around 1100 students. The students submitted a representation to the administration on Tuesday, stating ‘increasing incidence of dengue and other severe illnesses on campus, the conditions in the halls of residence that have contributed to it, and the absence of a timely, preventive and clearly communicated institutional response’.

The students claimed that based on a survey conducted by them, 193 students reported to be suffering from illnesses as of September 29; 102 students had dengue, 11 typhoid, 77 viral, 28 food poisoning and 19 other infections.

“The actual number can be even higher since many students didn’t fill the form; illnesses contracted before August 21—when the form was circulated—may very well not be reported. The data was placed before the Chief Faculty Warden on September 2 and before the Registrar, who has orally acknowledged its receipt. No fogging was conducted between September 11 and 23. In that period, 36 new students contracted dengue. Green algae and worms were found in mess water on September 10. Test reports were produced only on September 28. No official communication exists on how students on medically prescribed rest will be treated in examinations. Treatments cost students an average of Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000—the amount is borne entirely by them. The situation is recurrent, and every measure taken has been retrospective,” the student representation stated.

On Monday, GNLU issued an advisory on preventive measures and precautions for the students.

Story continues below this ad

GNLU Registrar Nitin Malik told The Indian Express: “There were cases of dengue after monsoon, but dengue cases were reported not only in GNLU but also in Pandit Deendayal Energy University (PDEU) and other parts of Gandhinagar. The moment these cases were reported, we conducted fogging and requested Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) to take measures. Water contamination was also treated the moment it came to our notice. We cleaned the water supply sources.”

“The demand is not merely for disclosure of expenditure, but for accountability between expenditure, contractual obligations and the services actually delivered to students,” the students demanded.

They also pointed out that the concerns about dengue, sanitation, water, food and hostel conditions had persisted for years. “We are not aware of any substantial preventive measures taken by the GNLU administration for the health of students. Almost all the measures have mostly been retrospective, taken after students report a problem, after an incident, or after considerable damage has been done. A recurring problem that pesters the GNLU campus almost every August-September is a foreseeable one. Students cannot be expected to recreate the same data collection every year before the GNLU admin acts,” the representation adds.

GNLU Registrar Nitin Malik said that the main issue was students demanding medical exemptions from attendance. “Those with genuine cases will be investigated. We are holding a meeting with the students on Wednesday afternoon,” he said.

Story continues below this ad

The student body confirmed that after assurances from the administration of meeting their demands, the protest was called off till the Wednesday meeting.