Cow dung on classroom walls of Lakshmibai College: DUSU chief defaces principal's office

NEW DELHI: DUSU president Ronak Khatri on Tuesday smeared cow dung on the walls of Lakshmibai College principal's office, escalating a row that ignited after she was caught on video coating classroom walls with cow dung for “cooling” them.

In the video, widely shared on social media, principal Pratyush Vatsala was seen coating classroom walls with cow dung. "No consent was taken from students for such an initiative," Khatri told PTI Videos while arguing with a faculty member inside the principal's office. "If you want to do research, do it at your home," he said.

The principal told PTI on April 13 that the faculty-led initiative was part of an ongoing research aimed at exploring indigenous and sustainable cooling techniques. There was no immediate response from the university regarding Tuesday's incident.

In a post on X, Khatri referenced the principal's viral video and sarcastically said that he and his supporters had gone to "help" her by plastering her office walls as well. "We have full faith that madam will now get the AC removed from her room and hand it over to students, and run the college in this modern and natural cool environment smeared with cow dung," he wrote.

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Teacher shared video on her WhatsApp group

In defense of her now-viral video, Principal Vatsala on April 13 said it was part of an ongoing research project conducted in porta cabins. "It is under process. I will be able to share details of the full research after a week," she had said, stressing that misinformation was being spread without full context. "There's no harm in touching natural mud," she added. The principal reportedly shared the video in a teachers' WhatsApp group, noting that the indigenous method was being used to cool classrooms in C Block.

"Those who have classes here will soon get these rooms in a new look. Efforts are being made to make your teaching experience pleasant," she wrote. The administration maintains that the method is part of scientific inquiry into sustainable practices amid rising temperatures in the capital.