Students of Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University staging a protest in front of the Tirupati district Collectorate on Monday.
| Photo Credit: K.V. POORNACHANDRA KUMAR
The indefinite strike by students of Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University (SVVU), Tirupati, has entered its eighth day, with the relay hunger strike continuing for the fourth day. As part of their protest on Monday, they took out a bike rally up to the District Collector’s office, submitted a representation to the Collector and came back to their protest camp.
Veterinary student J. Ezra said, “We have made it very clear that the SVVU students will not call off the protest until the primary demand of increasing the stipend on par with other medical students is fulfilled. We have threatened to intensify the protest if the demand is not conceded.”
Another student Karthik Nivas informed that former Animal Husbandry Minister Sidiri Appalaraju had promised a stipend revision in 2022, yet no action has been taken. They pointed out that, for the past 13 years, undergraduate (UG) students are receiving only ₹7,000, postgraduate (PG) students ₹9,000, and Ph.D. scholars ₹10,000 per month.
During the current economic situation, these amounts are insufficient, causing severe financial strain. While the government is reportedly considering raising the UG stipend to ₹10,000 and the PG stipend to ₹12,000, the students are rejecting this proposal, asserting that their stipends should be equal to those of medical students.
Additionally, the students strongly oppose any move to merge veterinary universities with agricultural universities, arguing that veterinary medicine is a distinct and specialised field, comparable to human medicine in terms of training and expertise. They believe such a merger would negatively impact the future of veterinary education.
The students emphasised that their strike is not politically motivated and that they are not protesting against the government. They expressed confidence that the current administration will recognise their plight and take appropriate action.
Published – February 10, 2025 07:25 pm IST