Sir/Madam, 

We are the 4th-year undergraduate students of Palli Siksha Bhavana (ICAR approved), an agricultural faculty of Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, West Bengal.

The school, colleges, and universities had been shut down till 3 February in Bengal due to the pandemic surge. But now when it's reopening, our department and university want us to rejoin the classes and conduct RAWE & AIA surveys staying in Santiniketan for these 3 months.

But the problem arises when our university is not opening the hostels and asking us to arrange hotels & homes for these 3 months outside the campus. Firstly, this is financially very impractical. Santiniketan being a tourist hub, the rates are always sky-high. Secondly, in this pandemic, staying in hotels for this long, and mixing with other teachers and students daily would prove very unsafe for us.

We requested the department to allow us to conduct the survey in our home districts' KVKs and agro-industries, as it was done by the 2020-21 batch. This would not only save our money but also help us stay safe in this pandemic.  But the faculties turned a deaf ear to our pleads.

So, on behalf of me and my 54 fellow year mates, I humbly request you sir to please ask the university to allow students to conduct RAWE & AIA surveys in our home districts. From a social perspective, these survey data from across all districts of Bengal would give a better insight into the agro-ecosystem of Bengal. Since the dates are very near for RAWE & AIA (from 16th February 2022), I would request you to please talk to the concerned authorities at the earliest. 

Thank you for giving your valuable time reading this request of ours. We shall eagerly wait to hear a positive reply from your end. We expect you to look into this matter from humanitarian grounds. We shall be highly obliged if you consider our request.

Thanks and regards,
4th-year undergraduate students of Palli Siksha Bhavana,
2021-22 Batch.