Students of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Girls’ Hostel in Hassan staged a protest in front of the Social Welfare Department office on August 19 demanding basic amenities, including beds and window curtains.

The students, gathered under the banner of the Hassan district unit of the All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO), alleged that they lacked minimum facilities, such as window curtains, beds, cots, and mosquito coils, and that repeated appeals to the authorities concerned had gone unheeded.

AIDSO district secretary Sushma D.S. said that windows in the hostel, which houses 110 students, opened onto the main road, but did not have curtains, denying minimum privacy to the inmates. The students had been forced to use bed-sheets to cover the windows, she said. They had also been demanding beds and cots, and had submitted written pleas, but the officers concerned had not responded.

The students submitted a memorandum to senior officers of the department, who promised that beds would be provided within 15 days, and other facilities within a week.

AIDSO district president Chaitra U.K. and vice-president Abhishek led the protest.