Burdwan, Jan. 15: The procession yesterday morning at first irked the people on the streets, already fed up with demonstrations. Then they noticed the difference.

The procession was one of students, around 300 of them from several colleges, campaigning to save their friend. They were requesting money from passers-by to help a bright fellow student who is suffering from cancer.

Ashis Dhara, a 24-year-old resident of Bhutgor Par in Burdwan town, has struggled all his life.

A meritorious student from the start, Ashis, the son of a labourer, did not allow his circumstances to cow him down and passed the MA examination in geography from Burdwan University last year with first class.

He was a student of Burdwan Town School and passed the Madhyamik and the higher secondary examination with star marks (75 per cent) in the aggregate. He graduated with geography honours from Shyamsundar College with first class.

He passed NET conducted by the UGC and qualified to become a junior research fellow. After his MA, Ashis enrolled for PhD at the university, researching rural development.

He had funded his own education throughout by giving private lessons or taking loans. He was someone his friends cared for deeply.

Soon after he began research, Ashis began to experience breathing trouble and was admitted to Burdwan Medical College and Hospital on December 7 last year. When doctors at the hospital suspected Ashis was suffering from cancer, they took him to Bangalore, where the disease was confirmed. Ashis was suffering from lymphoma cancer.

From Bangalore, Ashis's friends took him on December 26 to Mumbai's Tata Memorial Centre, which specialises in cancer treatment. The Mumbai visit was possible as Ashis's friends had raised Rs 80,000 from teachers and contributed Rs 70,000 themselves. In Mumbai, doctors said the cancer was in the early stage and could be treated, but it would take about five months and Rs 7 lakh.

Ashis was shattered because he could not think of collecting the amount himself. It was then that his friends launched a campaign to save his life.

They visited courts and government offices, carrying a banner explaining their cause. They also spoke to students and teachers across colleges.

Yesterday morning, when the students took out the procession, teachers from several colleges joined them. The students spoke to pedestrians and commuters. Many of them listened sympathetically and donated money or agreed to help.

One of them was Rumki Bhattacharya, a 52-year-old homemaker from Raina who was visiting Burdwan town to meet a doctor. She gave the students a Rs 1,000 note and asked them to give her an account number, where she plans to deposit Rs 5,000 later.

Taking part in the procession were Prabodh Mandal, who teaches geography at Bolpur College, and Pradip Pal, a teacher at Memari College. "A student is like a son to the teacher. We don't know Ashis personally. But we have come out to help him after knowing about his plight," Mandal said.

The students belonged to Memari College, Bolpur College and Raj College.

The students raised Rs 1.04 lakh from the street campaign. "It was unbelievable how teachers from colleges and Burdwan University joined us. The Burdwan municipality has given us a cheque for Rs 20,000," said Ashis's friend Debabrata Biswas, who can be contacted on the phone number 8513952226.

"We have to win this battle," said Susmita Ghosh, another friend.

Sona Dhara, Ashis's father, had tears coursing down his face as he tried to speak. "I have two sons and a daughter. Ashis is the eldest. His brother Debashis is a third-year college student. Only Ashis's friends can save him."

The students will raise more money from local trains on January 16 and visit the Jaidev Kenduli fair in Birbhum on Sunday. They also plan to go to the Calcutta book fair on January 28-29.