Alappuzha: News of Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), a government-owned university in Kerala, refusing to grant permission to a group of north Indian students to celebrate Saraswati puja in the Kuttanad campus was met with strong reactions online.

After relentless pressure from social media, the authorities have decided to allow the students to perform puja.

On February 1, the vice-chancellor of the campus declined the request of north Indian students to celebrate Saraswati puja, stating that the college is a secular campus and they cannot permit religious functions and activities of any particular religion inside the campus.

The students alleged that the restriction has come into place only this year and a similar puja was conducted in the campus in 2018.

As the news of refusing students to celebrate puja went viral and when social media started to react sharply, the college and vice chancellor in the campus changed their stance on the issue.

The vice-chancellor has now said that the Saraswati puja may be peacefully conducted on the campus as long as it does not affect classes.

Some have alleged that the reason the students were denied permission to celebrate their religious function inside the campus was because the campus belongs to the government.

It is also alleged that the same organisation had earlier allowed the college students to celebrate Christmas. Photos of the Christmas celebrations also went viral on social media.

It is the same college where students had claimed last year to have been misled into eating beef as part of the 'Beef Festival'. The campus principal was allegedly accused of feeding beef to his students to satisfy his ego, as per reports.