The Hindu : National : Nehru statue to be installed at JNU's main entrance

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 01, 2005

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National

Nehru statue to be installed at JNU's main entrance

Lakshmi B. Ghosh

The move will make the residential complex safer Officials feel that the timing is right for the first political figure to find a "permanent" space on the campus

NEW DELHI: Over three decades after it first opened the door to a new educational experience, the sprawling Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus seems to have finally found space for the man it was named after. Greeting its residents and visitors at the University's new main entrance soon would be a nine-foot tall statue of the country's first Prime Minister.

It may have come after a long wait, but with the University finally giving the go-ahead, the statue would be installed at the JNU's East Gate, which the University is planning to turn into its main entrance soon. University officials feel the timing is just right for the first political figure to find a "permanent" space on the campus.

"We are today passing through a phase where Nehru is even more relevant to the times. The commitment to Nehru and his principles remain as important today as it was in his times," said Balveer Arora, JNU Rector.

Accidents

The plan to shift the main gate entrance from the North to the East Gate comes after accidents were reported at the North. These were caused by absence of proper lighting and unclear field vision.

"There are a lot of blind corners around the North Gate which were posing safety problems. A number of teachers and students complained that they could not see the traffic movement. Since the police too was not keen on installing a traffic light as it slows down the traffic, we thought it may be a better idea to move the entrance to the East Gate,'' said an official.

Present entrance `plain'

But that is not the only reason why the University is planning to move its entrance. Officials feel the current entrance is too "plain" and opens into the residential block of teachers and students. By shifting the main entrance to the East Gate, most visitors would go straight to the administrative and academic blocks, thereby making the residential complex safer.

While students and residents can come from any of the gates, outsiders would be allowed access from the East Gate.

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