The government has asked Presidency University to complete the renovation of Building-I of the Eden Hindu Hostel, where 110 students can be accommodated, by November 15.

Students have been holding an indefinite sit-in in front of the vice-chancellor’s office since October 1 to protest the delay in the repair of the hostel that was shut down for restoration on July 29, 2015.

More than 150 students of the College Street institution have had to travel 15km every day to and from a rented accommodation in New Tow after the closure of the hostel.

A team from the higher education department visited Eden Hostel on Thursday to review the repairs. “I am directed to say that it is feasible to get Building-I of the Eden Hindu Hostel (which can accommodate 110 students) ready along with basic facilities by November 15, 2018. This will require complete on-site co-ordination. The university must ensure this coordination to meet the deadline,” stated a letter addressed to Presidency registrar Debajyoti Konar from a senior official of the department.

Konar confirmed receipt of the letter. “According to the state government November 15 is a feasible date for the completion of basic renovation of ward-I and ward-II, which is essentially Building-I. After getting the instruction, I placed it before vice-chancellor Anuradha Lohia who has asked the officials concerned to comply with the deadline,” he said, urging students to withdraw the protest.

Asked whether the students’ protest had forced the university authorities to complete a job they could not accomplish in over three years, Konar said: “Students have shown dedication over the past two months through several forms and this is an outcome of their dedication.”

The repair deadline comes a week after Konar met higher education secretary R.S. Shukla and updated him on the progress in renovation.

Education minister Partha Chatterjee last week formed a committee headed by Shukla to monitor the renovation and asked VC Lohia for an update on repairs.

Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, who is the chancellor of Presidency, had asked VC Lohia about the delay in hostel repairs at a meeting of seven university heads. Chatterjee, present at the meeting in Raj Bhavan, too had enquired about the delay.

The university held a hearing on Friday, where 35 Presidency students were summoned to depose before a probe committee tasked to enquire into the “unprecedented incident of locking/ closing of the university’s main gates on September 10” that prevented teachers, administrative staff from entering the campus. The students were protesting the delay in hostel renovation.

The students boycotted the hearing. “Hundreds of students participated in the protest. When asked how they arrived at a figure of 35, a probe committee member said they held a lottery for this. We refused to attend the hearing following this bizarre logic,” said Arkopaul Dutta, a student.