IIT-Kanpur students stand with dhobis as institute moves to mechanized washing

Institute says buildings were dilapidated and declared unsafe for habitation by experts, adds it is offering housing arrangements for washermen's families outside the campus

- Haidar Naqvi

KANPUR: Students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur rallied around the campus's dhobis and held protests on Wednesday following the demolition of the washermen's living quarters and the Dhobi ghat. The action comes nearly four months after the 32 families of washermen were handed eviction notices.

The students claimed that the institute is in the process of replacing the manual washing of clothes with a mechanized central laundromat of industrial scale as part of its modernization efforts. They fear that this change will force the washermen out of work and privatize the facility. Demanding reinstatement of the families, nearly 50 students protested at the demolition site, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Council of Students for Hostel Affairs (CSOHA) issued a communiqué stating that the action went against the principles IIT Kanpur has long upheld, particularly its humanitarian obligations.

"The students, as major stakeholders in this service, were not consulted, and the demolition happened when the institute was supposed to be working towards an amicable solution, as was communicated on Wednesday," the students stated.