Bhubaneswar, Dec. 2: Protests against the proposal of transferring students of Sardar Rajas Medical College (SRMC) to other medical colleges of the state intensified today after the students of MKCG Medical College in Berhampur locked up their institute.

The students of MKCG Medical College, VSS Medical College and Hi-Tech Medical College also launched a protest against the decision in Bhubaneswar today.

The students of both MKCG and VSS said that their colleges did not have enough infrastructure and proper staff strength to accommodate additional students from SRMC. Students of Hi-Tech Medical College said that the SRMC students should go to government medical colleges and not their college as Hi-Tech had a higher national ranking than SRMC.

To support their view, the protesting students of VSS and MKCG pointed out that the Medical Council of India had repeatedly rejected proposals to increase seats in their colleges on the ground that they did not have adequate infrastructure and manpower.

If the MCI now sends additional students to these colleges, it will create further problems in the teacher: student ratio and availability of laboratory and hostel facilities.

A weeklong strike is already going on in all the three medical colleges with students boycotting classes as a mark of protest. "We were allotted Hi-tech Medical College & Hospital in Bhubaneswar according to our rankings in NEET-2013. So, if students of SRMC can be accommodated in the two government medical colleges, we should also be given preference in getting transfer to government colleges as we had secured better ranks (than the students of SRMC). The students in government colleges pay a fee of around Rs 20,000 per annum, while we pay Rs 4.25 lakh in private colleges," said Deepsha, an MBBS student.

In Berhampur, about 500 undergraduate and postgraduate medical students burnt the effigies of chief minister Naveen Patnaik and health minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak on the campus. Outdoor patients were affected by the students' protest as the college building houses pathology and microbiology laboratories apart from several diagnostic departments.

"If students of private medical colleges can be accommodated in government medical colleges, then what is the value of merit and JEE ranks? We will not allow students of any private medical college to come to MKCG unless there is an increase in permanent seats," said Ramapada Mahapatra, the president of the MKCG College Students' Union.

MKCG principal Khetrabasi Subudhi said the students did not allow any staff inside the college building during their protest today.