Santiniketan: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited Visva Bharati University today to participate in its convocation, apologized to the students for paucity of water during the programme.

“When I was coming I saw some students gesturing to me that they have no drinking water. As the chancellor of the university I apologise to the students for this problem,” Modi said at the beginning of his convocation address.

Unruly scenes were witnessed inside the convocation venue ‘Amra Kunja’ just before the prime minister arrived there as students protested over paucity of water, an official said.

The students alleged that some of them fell sick as there was inadequate arrangement for water and other facilities at the venue.

The university authorities, however, said the protesters were outsiders and had nothing to do with Visva Bharati.

“Some of the protesters were identified and asked to leave the venue. The problem has been taken care of,” said an official of the university.