Members of All Assam Blind Students? Association on the sixth day of their hungerstrike at Dispur Last Gate on Sunday. Picture by UB Photos

Sept. 26: Five activists of the All Assam Blind Students? Union, who were on an indefinite fast, were forcibly taken away and admitted to hospital by police today.

Union general secretary Phani Acharya alleged that policemen this afternoon forcibly removed five of their members from Dispur Last Gate, where they were taking part in a demonstration, to Gauhati Medical College Hospital. The union had organised a fast-unto-death, demanding employment opportunities and better educational facilities for visually impaired persons.

?The police had no right to forcibly take the agitators away from the spot. The condition of the five members was deteriorating but we shall continue our agitation until the state government pledges to fulfil our demands,? Acharya added. Today was the sixth day of the hungerstrike launched by the union.

Acharya said five more blind activists have joined in the hungerstrike after the five union members were forcibly shifted to the hospital. Though the condition of the quintet has been deteriorating since Thursday, they have declined medical supervision.

The All Assam Students? Union (AASU) has strongly condemned the police action. AASU general secretary Amiyo Bhuyan said the state government should come forward to aid these students. ?The government?s indifferent attitude is very disappointing. If the government cannot take the initiative to improve the condition of these blind students, what can citizens expect from them?? he asked.

The union has demanded that all blind schools, including the one in the city, be provincialised. It said the schools were not functioning properly as enrolment of students has gone down. Accusing Dispur of indifference, Acharya said, ?The government had assured us several times that our demands would be met but nothing has been done.?

The blind students have also demanded that the backlog of vacancies in government departments should be filled up under the mandatory three per cent reservation quota for the disabled. The union said no attempt had been made to clear the backlog of vacancies for the disabled in different government departments in the state since 1981.

Social welfare minister Gautam Roy, commissioner and secretary K.K. Hazarika and director Chittaranjan Kalita met the students recently, but failed to dissuade them. The union had demanded an assurance from chief minister Tarun Gogoi that its demands would be met.

The union launched its agitation on September 20, when it took out a rally to Dispur from the blind school at Basistha. The students had also submitted a memorandum to the chief minister through an official.