Mysuru:  The 112 nursing students including three male students, who had protested seeking adequate security following perverts entering the Girls Nursing Hostel in the K.R. Hospital premises, have all proceeded on leave en masse for a week.

However, it is not only these students but even the 165 B.Sc Nursing students have also locked their rooms and gone on mass leave.

Meanwhile, the Hospital authorities have swung into action following directions from Deputy Commissioner (DC) Abhiram G. Sankar to secure the hostel by installing iron grill gates and windows, clearing the place of weeds and wild growth and taking up civil works.

The work is going on at full pace with the Mysuru City Corporation’s (MCC) Abhaya team clearing the branches of trees and bringing JCB to clear the weeds. K.R. Hospital Resident Medical Officer (RMO) Dr. M.S. Rajesh Kumar and Principal of the Nursing School Helen D’Silva are supervising the work since this morning.

MMC&RI (Mysore Medical College and Research Institute) Dean and Director Dr. Nanjaraja told SOM here this morning that Devaraja Police have deployed more Police around the hostel and even the private security guarding the hostel has been increased with security guards working in three shifts.

The hostel, which already has four CCTV cameras, will have an additional four CCTV cameras installed so that the repeat of the perverts entering the hostel and creating panic among the students can be stopped or at least if it occurs in the future can be captured on the cameras, he said.

There are 37 students in the first year and 38 each in the second and third year and all of them have been sent home after taking an undertaking from them and they will return on Aug.1, said Dr. Nanjaraja and added that besides them, the 165 B.Sc Nursing students have also gone on leave as the whole place is being spruced up. The work of clearing the place and installing security gates is going on at a brisk pace and is likely to be completed by the time students return to the hostel, he said.

Protesting students meet GTD

The K.R. Hospital Nursing Hostel students staged a protest in front of the DC Office yesterday. Higher Education Minister G. T. Devegowda (GTD), who came to attend the meeting at the DC Office with other Ministers K.J. George and S.R. Mahesh, on seeing the students protesting met them and received their complaints.

The students explained to him the predicament they were in following perverts entering the hostel and creating disturbances. Instilling confidence in them, he assured of adequate security.

Meanwhile, GTD who met Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy later in the evening, drew his attention to the problems of the nursing students. HDK, responding immediately, gave his approval for taking up all the required work for the safety of the students. On the instructions of the CM, the DC visited the hostel last evening and prepared a list of works to be taken up. He also assured the nursing students that in another two days proper security arrangements will be made.

Later, speaking to the media, he said that for taking up the civil works more money was required and tenders have to be called for. Hence, the urgent works like installing iron grill gates and windows, additional CCTV cameras, installation of LED lights will be taken up first.