Kolkata, Mar 24 (PTI) Pupils of Presidency University in Kolkata have been staging a sit-in for the last five days demanding immediate conduct of student union polls and making the placement cell more active.

Around 50 members of CPI(M)'s student wing, SFI, have been staging the dharna on the campus for 117 hours till 4 pm on Monday.

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"We have been staging the dharna for over 117 hours, demanding immediate conduct of student union elections which have not been held for several years. This is depriving the pupils of their representatives.

"We also call for making the placement and internship cell active. It has been virtually non-functional... We demand a reply from the university management why these just demands are being overlooked," Student Federation of India's Presidency University unit's spokesperson Bitan Islam said.

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He said that the protest is being staged to safeguard the rights of every student on the campus.

The agitating students were seen raising slogans to press for their demand.

An official of the university said only the state Higher Education Department has the authority to decide on when to hold the student union polls.

He claimed that the placement cell is already active and the university is facilitating the internship of students in various companies and organisations.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)