Kurnool nursing college denies ‘religious bias’ against J&K students

Tirupati: The management of govt nursing college in Kurnool has dismissed allegations of selective restrictions on students of Jammu & Kashmir on religious lines. The J&K Students Association had accused the college management of imposing curbs on students from the region. In a letter to chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, the students' body sought urgent intervention over the alleged harassment, denial of permission for Ramzan celebrations (Sheri & Iftar), hijab restrictions, and violation of fundamental rights of J&K students studying at the nursing college.The Kurnool district administration ordered an enquiry into the issue, and the district medical and health dept was directed to visit the college and interact with the students, as well as with the management of the college.Responding to the issue, nursing college principal R Padmavathi dismissed the allegations and stated that no selective restrictions were imposed on the students on religious lines."There are 678 students pursuing nursing degrees at govt nursing college in Kurnool, out of which 303 students are hostellers. Among them, 20 students are from Jammu and Kashmir, and 13 students are staying at the hostel. We gave them the necessary permission to celebrate Ramzan without imposing any kind of curbs," she said."During Ramzan, when students wanted to get special food from outside, we even allowed that. However, when some students were found to be ordering food through online delivery platforms late at night, we informed them that it was against the rules and asked them to order food early, within the permissible hours only," Padmavathi added.Meanwhile, one of the students from Jammu, Manjha Rani, said the quality of food served at the hostel was substandard, which forced them to order food from outside through online food delivery apps. "However, the college management has imposed curbs on ordering food through delivery apps for two weeks," she alleged.