Lucknow: Women post-graduate students of the Motilal Nehru Medical College in Allahabad were on Tuesday ordered to vacate their hostel after the administration found them feeding stray dogs in the compound.

The hostel administration claimed that the step was taken after the hostel residents - post-graduate students of pathology - refused to stop feeding the dogs that have bitten over a dozen children in the compound in the past few days.

"The girls fed biscuits to the dogs regularly, after which the dogs started dwelling permanently in the verandahs of the hostel. In the past few days, they have bitten nearly a dozen small children of the hostel staff," Neera Kasturi, assistant warden of the hostel, told sources by phone.

The girls were asked to stop feeding the dogs and on their refusal, the administration took this step, she added.

However, the students disputed the warden's version.

"We only fed small puppies with the left-over food and that too outside the hostel campus. If the college is so concerned, it should post guards in and around the compound to stop the dogs from entering the campus," Meghna, a student, said.

Volunteers of the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) also reached the hostel to support the residents.

"There in nothing wrong in feeding stray animals. The college administration should have done a proper enquiry before issuing such an order," Samaj Shekhar, the district coordinator of PETA, told reporters. IANS