Around 200 students from colleges across Kolkata gathered at Bikash Bhavan, which houses the Education Minister's office, on October 4, demanding the reopening of schools and colleges in the state. The students who were hoping to meet Education Minister Bratya Basu, were instead detained by the local police. More than 50 students who were detained were released in the evening. "No one listened to us. No one came to even have a dialogue. The police just came and took around 50 of us in custody. We had a memorandum ready but they did not even want to listen," said a protesting student.
While the movement, Hok Unlock, named after the Hok Kolorob movement of 2014 in Kolkata, started at Jadavpur University, students of a few other Kolkata universities and colleges have joined in. The first demonstration was held on September 20 at Jadavpur University while for the second one on September 28, the students chose College Street as their venue. "Students from Presidency University also joined in. There were more than 100 students while teachers joined us in our demands as well," said Tarpan Sarkar, a student of Jadavpur University.
The festive season is on and everything from malls to cinema halls have opened. The state government has even relaxed night curfew rules for the few Puja days. "The logic is simple. If malls, offices, shops, theatres and offices are open and people are out for Puja shopping, then why can't colleges and schools be reopened? The kids are as exposed as the adults, they are stepping out as well. Will they contract the virus only if they come to school or we go to colleges and not when they are going out shopping with their parents?" asked a protesting student.
