A number of foreign students studying in the city under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarship staged a protest in front of its regional office here on Thursday against the non-payment of house rent allowances (HRA) for the past few months.
Students from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Afghanistan and other countries gathered outside the ICCR office in the afternoon, demanding answers from the authorities. Officials from ICCR said that the decision not to pay the allowances was taken by the Ministry of External Affairs.
A student from Bangladesh said that house owner has asked him to either vacate the house or pay the rent. "This has caused a lot of inconvenience," he said. Students said that the previous regional director of the ICCR had seen the poor condition of some of the hostels in various institutions in which the students were studying.
He had agreed for the payment of house rent allowance for students staying outside. The U-turn on not paying the allowances has left a number of students in the lurch in the middle of the academic year, they lamented. P Venugopal, regional director, ICCR said that his office had written to the head office inNew Delhi asking them to sort out the matter at the earliest. A proposal will be sent asking the head office to provide the allowance at least for the months from June to October. Later these students would be asked to stay in the hostels.
"The complaints of students will be addressed and the matter resolved soon. In colleges with hostel facilities, students with ICCR scholarships have to stay there. It is only for students of institutions without such facilities that the allowance could be provided," he said.
Students from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Afghanistan and other countries gathered outside the ICCR office in the afternoon, demanding answers from the authorities. Officials from ICCR said that the decision not to pay the allowances was taken by the Ministry of External Affairs.
A student from Bangladesh said that house owner has asked him to either vacate the house or pay the rent. "This has caused a lot of inconvenience," he said. Students said that the previous regional director of the ICCR had seen the poor condition of some of the hostels in various institutions in which the students were studying.
He had agreed for the payment of house rent allowance for students staying outside. The U-turn on not paying the allowances has left a number of students in the lurch in the middle of the academic year, they lamented. P Venugopal, regional director, ICCR said that his office had written to the head office inNew Delhi asking them to sort out the matter at the earliest. A proposal will be sent asking the head office to provide the allowance at least for the months from June to October. Later these students would be asked to stay in the hostels.
"The complaints of students will be addressed and the matter resolved soon. In colleges with hostel facilities, students with ICCR scholarships have to stay there. It is only for students of institutions without such facilities that the allowance could be provided," he said.