Kolkata: Defying a 24-hour eviction order, students refused to vacate SRFTI hostels and premises on Saturday following the suspension of academic activities for the Film and EDM wings till Nov 13 and the closure of mess services. The administration is coordinating with its four international students to address their accommodation issues.Outstation students are finding it hard to secure festive-season travel tickets home. Currently, SRFTI has four international students in different batches. While one female Mexican student stays outside the campus, another male Bangladeshi student who has been allotted a hostel is currently staying outside. The third is a female student from Botswana who has been allotted a hostel. The fourth is from Japan but is currently staying outside. “The administration remains in touch with all four and will address their concerns, keeping their individual circumstances in view,” said SRFTI’s registrar Deepak Kumar.Students mentioned a food crisis and noted that an abrupt closure has never happened in SRFTI’s history. “The mess suspension is part of a broader arrangement, under which students have been directed to vacate the hostels during the period of suspended regular academic activities. These measures are aimed at restoring normalcy and ensuring the orderly functioning of SRFTI,” Kumar said.Anamika Pal, a student, said SRFTI merely “pasted a piece of paper on the board of hostels” without sending “any official email” informing about the shutdown. Actors, she claimed, refuse to visit the campus for shootings. She insisted that amid an ongoing student sit-in, VC Santosh Ajmera remains “adamant about halting it”, deploying “a naive and inhumane approach that strips students of basic rights”. “This inhumane approach shows the intention of our VC, who never did anything to ensure our safety and security and is now making it difficult for us to live on campus,” said Pal.Some pointed out that it also threatens to disrupt filmmakers’ plans to shoot with seasonal elements like kash flowers and autumn skies, as a month-long halt will delay their projects by a year. Another student, Sneha Malakar, said, “Even during Covid, those who wanted to stay on campus were allowed to do so. I will not vacate my hostel room now.”However, the registrar insisted that this leave is not “abrupt just like an extension”. “The Durga Puja leave from Oct 17 to Oct 26 was already in the academic schedule. Large number of students have gone home. Given the current circumstances, we only extended the leave. All students are required to comply with the orders within the prescribed timelines. Any non-compliance will invite appropriate disciplinary action,” Kumar said.
