The Pushkar Singh Dhami government’s decision to hand over Haridwar Government Medical College to a private firm resulted in a big faceoff between the administration and the students.

The Medical college students, who are protesting against the government’s decision for nearly four days, alleged that the police are not allowing them to meet the chief minister and locked them in the campus.

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The protest against the government medical college going into Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode has intensified in the last four days. The students have boycotted the classes in support of their demand that the Dhami government should revoke its decision. They contended that the government’s move would ruin their career and future as the firm managing the college would increase the fee for all future students as per their whims and fancies.

On Friday, the protesting students wanted to visit the state capital, Dehradun, to meet the chief minister but were not allowed by the police. They accused the Haridwar Police of forcibly preventing them from traveling to Dehradun.

The students said the police did not allow the driver of the bus hired by them to take them to Dehradun. What’s noteworthy is that the protesting students had booked a bus to travel to Dehradun to meet the chief minister but the police did not allow the driver to take his seat.

The medical college students alleged that the Haridwar Police had locked the students trying to go to Dehradun for talks with CM within the campus. According to the students, who were reluctant to speak on record, the police had locked the college gate and were not allowing them to venture out of the college campus.

The Uttarakhand government, on Tuesday, announced that it has given its Haridwar medical college on PPP mode for better management and medical facilities in the college hospital. Uttarakhand Director of Medical Education Dr. Ashutosh Sayana stated, “Haridwar Government Medical College has been sanctioned 100 seats from this academic session and proper studies have started in the college. Taking a step forward, the government has decided to hand out Haridwar Medical College on PPP mode for its better management and good services to the patients.”

Dr. Sayana’s statement came as a big jolt to the students. They immediately started protesting and had been boycotting classes.