ANI |
Updated: Apr 15, 2025 21:41 IST
New Delhi [India], April 15 (ANI): A day after Delhi University’s Lakshmibai College Principal Pratyush Vatsala applied cow dung to classroom walls as a “desi” solution to beat the heat, Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) president Ronak Khatri smeared cow dung on the walls of her office in protests on Tuesday. 
Vatsala claimed the cow dung experiment aimed to explore indigenous methods to cool classrooms, citing previous research on cow dung’s cooling effects.
The video of the incident went viral, sparking criticism, however, Vatsala clarified that she had shared the video just to her Internal Faculty Group, and she doesn’t know who else shared it further or with what intention.
Speaking on this issue to ANI, the Principal of the Lakshmibai College said, “Those are portacabins in the canteen block, on the second floor…A few classes are held there as a last option. Infrastructure has also come up in the last 10 years. Still, the number of students is high…Those rooms look a little neglected. There are fans. We were sitting with the EVS faculty to find some local solutions. So, we started a study to control heat stress…Research has been done on cow dung earlier as well. So, in that background, since there was no plaster in the portacabin and it was located on the second floor, we thought of preparing something with cow dung by mixing it with mud to see the cooling effect. We decided to have a study.” 
“As far as my video is concerned, it was a holiday…To ensure that the children do not get disturbed in the middle of their classes, we did it in those days. I thought I, too, should join in…So I went ahead. I shared it with our internal faculty group. I wrote that these are some “desi” efforts to ensure that there is some comfort in those rooms. I can’t say who shared it from the Faculty group and with what intention,” she added.
Students criticised the principal’s actions, with Khatri accusing her of treating the college like an “experiment lab” without student permission, adding that the management is bringing old traditions contradictory to the resolution of modern India and Viksit Bharat. 
“This was getting viral on social media, and the principal was saying that through the research of a professor, they will cool the room with the help of cow dung. They talk about modern India and Vikshit Bharat. In Vikshit Bharat, they are bringing an old tradition. Is this the same condition in her own room? I went to check there, but this wasn’t the case. When she came to know that I was coming to her, she did not meet me in her room. Students told me that she left 15 minutes before I arrived. She considers this college her experiment lab, so I did the same in her room… How could they apply cow dung to a classroom without students’ permission?… College is not a place to do experiments,” he said.
Khatri lambasted the college management for lacking basic amenities, highlighting safety concerns and UGC rule violations, such as having only one entry and exit door in the portacabins.
“When I went there, there was only one entry and exit doors in the portacabins,” said the DUSU President.
He asserted that his legal team has made the necessary arrangements and will file an FIR against the Principal for violating the rules of the UGC.
The DUSU President further urged the Ministry of Education to install Air Conditioners (ACs) in the classrooms so that students could study properly.
“When I reached that classroom, I found that there was just one entry and exit. There should have been two. It is mandatory for portacabins, as per UGC rules… This lays the ground for FIR, my legal team is ready to take action… The students have complained one after another…Students of that college are distressed…I want to convey a message to the Ministry of Education that in these times, there is a dire need for ACS in classrooms; these are mandatory for portacabins. The quicker the Government understand this, students will be able to study better…We will file an FIR and take the Principal to the High Court. She has violated rules…” Khatri said. (ANI)