IIT Roorkee imposes 11 pm curfew to curb drug abuse, withdraws after students’ protest

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) withdrew an official order restricting students from going outside the campus after 11 pm following a students’ protest held on Monday. The institute imposed curfew time for students on campus in an attempt to curb substance abuse.

On February 28, IIT Roorkee’s Dean of Students' Welfare informed students that the local administration had told about some students going outside campus to consume alcohol and smoke cigarettes etc. “In view of the above, all the students of the Institute are directed that no student should stay out of the Institute Campus after 11 pm without any valid reason and prior approval,” it said.

“You are also informed that all the conditions related to the abuse of substances will remain applicable to the students going outside the Institute Campus and strict disciplinary action will be taken against the students found guilty in the future,” the order added.

Three days after the circular was issued, the students of IIT Roorkee staged a protest at 11 pm demanding to withdraw the order. Students also shared a poster that read “11 pm tonight - You know the drill”. As per sources, IIT Roorkee has withdrawn the order after the students' protest.

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IIT Roorkee student demands

“To bring down the rule was major. Apart from that students demanded open house too and 24*7 opening of the student activity centre which was closed last year after 2 AM. There were slogans like “Laut aao Chaturvedi”. Chaturvedi refers to Ajit K Chaturvedi, previous director of IIT Roorkee.

During his tenure, one of the significant changes introduced was the removal of time restrictions for girl students. “A positive result of the Pinjra Tod Movement” also created a cascading effect in majority colleges of India to promote gender equality, the official podcasting club of IIT Roorkee had said during his farewell.

In a similar incident, students of Ashoka University and the administration were on a warpath after the institute introduced vehicle check, bag scanning, and prohibition of alcohol and cigarettes on campus.