Naveen Patnaik

Bhubaneswar, May 23: A group of Odia students studying in the UK met chief minister Naveen Patnaik in London today, expressing concerns about their security in the foreign country.

They submitted a list of demands regarding a “safe and secure study environment” to the CM, who is on an eight-day official tour to the UK.

This has come almost a month after Odia boy K. Seshadri Rao was found murdered on the Boston University campus in USA. He was shot dead by unidentified assailants on April 19.

“After Seshadri’s murder, Odia students in the UK have become anxious and panicky. Lot of issues regarding students’ security has been coming up from time to time. The study environment is no more secure, which has deterred many students from exploring extracurricular and co-curricular activities,” said Sounik Kajal Kumar Dash, a student of Coventry University, London.

The students requested Naveen to intervene at the government-level and make arrangements so that they are allowed to directly contact the embassy office in London and other departments in the state during emergencies.

They also demanded changes in the recent rule on post study work visa by the UK government, which states that students from other countries will not be allowed to work in the UK after completion of their course.

“Students invest a huge amount of money for studying abroad. Many of us have even taken education loans so that we are able to study in good colleges and land good jobs. It would become very difficult if we are denied a work visa here,” said Dash.

“As if this was not enough, we get cold responses from the multinational companies in Odisha because even they prefer students from other states,” Dash added.

These demands of Odia students in the UK has received support from various student unions in the state, who have also threatened to stage protests if the government fails to act upon the memorandum.

“Our friends in foreign countries are constantly being harassed, having to bear insults in filthy language. It has become unsafe for them to move around freely.

“Recently, a group of foreign students had thrown soda cans at Odia students, who were returning back to the university campus late in the evening after some work,” said Akash Kumar, president of the University Law college in the capital.

Alleging that the state government has played down the Boston murder case and failed to provide justice to the family, Akash said many other student organisations are ready to put up a fight with the government if they did not accept the UK students’ demands.