IITian told to get rid of 11 cats in his room

An undergraduate student had adopted and fed the cats for several months, but after his hostel mates complained to the authorities, he was asked to get rid of the pets; the animals are now up for adoption

A student of IIT-Bombay in Powai was served a notice by the authorities after his hostel mates complained about the 11 cats he had adopted and kept in his room. Faisal Momin (name changed) had taken in the animals, as he was a cat lover. He fed them and took care of them for several months. But, gradually their numbers increased.

The authorities of IIT Bombay locked Faisal Momin’s room on January 9 to prevent him from entering. Momin was served a final notice on January 15 for keeping felines in his room. Representational pic

“He liked the animals and used to feed them regularly. But, when the kitten started littering in the corridor, it became a nuisance,” said a close friend of Momin. According to the rules, animals are not allowed on hostel premises and Momin had already been warned earlier about not keeping pets inside his room. But, he hadn’t heeded to them. Hence, the authorities locked his room on January 9 to prevent him from entering.

He was served a final notice on January 15. According to the notice (copy available with MiD DAY), some students from the same hostel had told the authorities about the felines, and had asked that the practice be stopped immediately since it was a violation of law. “He has now asked his other friends on social networking sites to adopt the cats,” added his friend.

An official from the institute clarified, “The notice was issued because keeping animals in the hostel room is a violation and causes nuisance. We had warned the student earlier, too, but there didn’t seem to be any form of change in the behaviour of the student; the cats remained inside.

There are many animals within the campus of IIT-Bombay, but one is not allowed to have them in the hostel or their rooms.” The hostel rooms are hardly 100 sq ft in area. Another officer of the institute said, “We have informed the concerned officials to take action, and the animals will be taken away from the hostel.”

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