Students belonging to both the SFI and the Trinamul Chhatra Parishad on Monday held separate agitation for hours on Visva-Bharati campus with a demand to open hostels as a large number of students are facing problems in getting rented accommodation to attend their physical classes.

“Visva-Bharati started its physical classes from February 3 but has kept its hostels closed. As a result, a large number of students are facing challenges to attend their classes. We earlier wrote to the authorities but it is yet to respond,” said Pritam Das, a Sangeet Bhavana student and a TMCP leader in Visva-Bharati.

Sources said, SFI supporters first gathered in front of the varsity’s gate leading to the administrative building and agitated for several hours. The TMCP students also echoed the same demand. TMCP supporters stopped the vehicle of varsity’s registrar Ashish Agrawal and urged him to listen to their request. However, the registrar allegedly refused to speak to them.

Visva-Bharati opened the campus and allowed physical classes for first-year undergraduate and postgraduate students, along with those who registered for PhD.

“Students coming from poor backgrounds are facing problems with accommodation as rents have increased with the opening of the varsity. The varsity authorities should realise that students come from across the state and country to study here,” said SFI leader Somnath Sow.

Varsity authorities, however, said they have taken initiatives to open hostels but wanted to observe the pandemic situation for a few days. There are 36 hostels on the campus but the authorities have planned to initially open 16 hostels — eight each for girls and boys.

“Now only forty per cent of students are attending physical classes. We have already appointed wardens for 16 hostels that will be opened in the first phase. But we need to take some time to observe the pandemic situation,” said a varsity official.