The 4,300-odd QMC students are certainly not amused. Since April 4 they have been campaigning to "protect" their prized property, located bang opposite the Marina beach. Candle-light vigils culminated on April 7 with the alumni joining the struggle. From 102-year-old Olive Paul of the 1921-23 batch to 20-year-old G. Jothi, everyone dubbed the demolition move as "foolish". The issue took a political turn when M.K. Stalin, DMK leader and M. Karunanidhi’s son, visited the QMC with four other party MLAs to express solidarity with the students. They were promptly arrested and put in judicial remand for "tresspassing".
Unable to quell the protests, the government ordered the closure of QMC from April 7 to 21. But the high court, responding to petitions filed by the Tamil Nadu Government Collegiate Teachers’ Association and student body SFI, has stepped in to hold Jaya’s whimsies at bay, if only for a while. It has granted an interim injunction against demolition and eviction till April 9. But the Poes Garden lady seems keen to have the last word.
