HYDERABAD: Nizamabad Congress leaders and legislators have started to lobby hard to see that the proposed Telangana University is set up in their own respective strongholds. At least four senior leaders including Ministers are making a determined bid to get suitable piece of land in their constituencies for the university infrastructure.

Telangana University is to have around 174 affiliated colleges and is slated to cater to the needs of students of Adilabad, Nizamabad and Medak districts. While Rural Development Minister D. Srinivas wants it to come up at Sarangapur, on the outskirts of Nizamabad, Information and Public Relations Minister Md. Ali Shabbir feels Kamareddy is more ideal.

Assembly Speaker K. R. Suresh Reddy too is not far behind and is said to be keen that the university is set up in his constituency, Balkonda. Congress MLA from Banswada B. Goverdhan is believed to have joined the race and has identified Dichpally as the place.

Committee visit

With the high-power committee constituted by the Government comprising of Chairman of Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education Chairman K. C. Reddy and Vice-Chancellors of Osmania and Sri Venkateswara Universities and senior officials about to visit the district for finalising the site, Congress leaders are making a determined effort.

Pitching in for Sarangapur, Mr. Srinivas said that more than 450 acres of Government land was shown to the committee during its previous visit. "The site is just four km away from Nizamabad and is accessible to students of all the three districts," he said.

Backing Sarangapur

To strengthen his case, he pointed out that all the MLAs of Adilabad district including Labour Minister G. Vinod have backed the Sarangapur site.

"There is nothing wrong in staking a claim for the university," said Mr. Shabbir. He claimed to be the first leader to have made a demand for separate varsity for the three Telangana districts. "The Kamareddy Degree College has 260 acres and it can be used for the university," he said.

However, some legislators are not in favour of Sarangapur because the site is located in a rocky terrain and too much money would have to be spent to make it suitable. Instead, they preferred a 200-acre site at Dichpally.

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