The faculty and students' union members of University of Hyderabad (UoH), under the banner of the 'Save University of Hyderabad' campaign, on Monday, staged a demonstration in protest against the varsity's move to
allot the university land to Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), for which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will lay the foundation stone on October 19.
Raising slogans against the varsity's decision, students and faculty members staged an agitation on the campus.
Addressing the gathering, UoH Assistant Prof. Raj Gopal stated that the university administration should be made to adopt a highly cautious stance in considering requests for land allotment by extrenal organizations, since the land is a valuable resource for the further development of the relatively young university.
He said a moratorium should be placed on all land allotments by the UoH.
The State government should issue a statement that it will not exert any pressure on the varsity for transfer of land to any private or public organization, he stated.
He demanded that all land deals entered into by the UoH over the past 5 years be subjected to a thorough review by an expert committee consisting of academicians, environmentalists, intellectuals and high court judges. Land which has been allotted without a proper rationale should be returned to the university, Prof. Raj Gopal added.
The allotment of 210 acres of land to TIFR should be immediately cancelled, the protestors demanded. They added that the State government may allot the land to TIFR from among the large tracts of land under its control or APIIC's control in the city.
They also demanded that the PM make a statement during his visit to Hyderabad that there will be an irrevocable freeze on all future land allotments by the UoH.
All stake holders of the varsity should be given a chance to thoroughly discuss the merits of any future proposal to alienate university land, they said. They urged the government to set up a committee on a national level, to look into land alienation issues pertaining to Indian universities.
Courtesy: INN