Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam   

Decision to shift varsity flayed

VISAKHAPATNAM: A round table conference (RTC) organised by the Visakhapatnam forum of People for India (PFI) here on Friday slammed the State Government for deciding to shift the Central University proposed here to Kadapa and termed as a lame excuse the non-availability of 700 acres of land here for diverting the university from here.

All participants wanted a sustained agitation to be conducted to get the Central University back to the city as it was gradually losing facilities to other places.

Chairperson of PFI and former Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University K.V. Ramana who conducted the RTC, pointed out that Visakhapatnam qualified in all respects for establishing the university. The decision to shift Central University only reflected the selfish political ends, he said.

MLC M.V.S. Sarma felt the shifting of Central University was an insult to the people of this region. The State Government claimed there was no land for this university but was willing to get more land to the Hindujas, though it did not utilise the large area of land allotted to it many years ago. All political parties and organisations must be involved and an agitation with a single point agenda of “Central University at Vizag” must be launched. Meetings like this must be held in all districts and also in border areas of other States to mobilise people’s support, Mr. Sarma said.

Plenty of land was available with the Wakf board and the land required for Central University could be taken on lease for this noble cause, vice-chairperson of PFI and retired Additional S.P. F.R. Khan suggested.

President of urban unit of BJP P.V. Narayana Rao criticised the people’s representatives of the region for not fighting for the cause of people. Secretary of CPI rural unit J.V. Satyanarayana Murthy wanted an agitation on the lines of the one held for steel plant in the past to be taken up.

A senior professor of Andhra University K. Sreerama Murthy said the city was suitable for the university as the Prime Minister himself said here in the past that it should get one of the world class universities the Centre was proposing. Secretary of AU Teachers Association M. Prasada Rao, Secretary of DYFI Srinivas, SFI secretary Jagan spoke.

Convener of PFI B.B. Ganesh welcomed. Prof. B.R.K. Raju said a Chief Minister must look after the interest of entire State and not just his district. Mr. Varahalu Chetty, Prof. P. Krishna Prasad, convener of Uttarandhra Abhivruddhi Vedika Rama Rao, Vice-chairperson of PFI B.L. Narayana and others spoke. Mr. Narayana proposed that memoranda be submitted to the Prime Minister, Union HRD Minister and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi asking them not to shift Central University to Kadapa.

Meanwhile, even as the State Cabinet decided to shift the Central University proposed by the Central Government at Visakhapatnam to Kadapa citing the reason of non-availability of land here, district officials say no proposal has been received from any quarters to look for land for the university.

“As far as I am concerned, no proposal has been made by any one to the District Administration to allot land (700 acres) for Central University here since I took charge”, Joint Collector M. Veerabrahmaiah told reporters here on Friday.

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