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Concern over politicisation of land for college

— Photo: Lingaraj Panda

Venting ire: Members of the Ganjam District Students’ Forum with leaders of political parties delivering the ‘100 lashes punishment’ on the effigy of MLA RCC Patnaik for not appearing before the “students’ court” in the OSRTC land dispute in Berhampur on Tuesday.

BERHAMPUR: The citizens of the city are now worried about politicization of the issue related to demand for handing over the Orissa State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) land in the city to the Khallikote Autonomous College.

Dhrana and agitation of students’ union continue in front of the college although the State Government has declared that the Reliance Company has withdrawn from its proposal to build up a shopping mall on the OSRTC land and it would be handed over to the college. But the agitating students say they would not withdraw from their agitation till the land was physically handed over to the college.

On Tuesday politicization of the issue became quite evident. Since the beginning of the students’ agitation the agitators had targeted local BJD MLA R.C.C.Patnaik. Since Monday they were holding a mock public hearing of the MLA in front of the college. On Tuesday after the ‘hearing’ was over they ‘punished’ the MLA to be lashed in public and this ‘punishment’ was carried out on an effigy of the MLA.

It irked the BJD supporters in the students’ union. They took out a rally on the college campus shouting slogans in favour of the BJD MLA. This group handed over a memorandum to the principal of the college demanding his intervention to stop politicization of college campus and involvement of non-students in the affairs of the college and its students. There were slogans by the rival students’ group in favour of Bikram Panda, a Congress leader who the BJD leaders allege to be fanning this agitation against the MLA.

For most citizens of the city it has become a personality war between the BJD MLA, Mr Patnaik and Congress leader, Mr Panda.

The Assembly elections are drawing near and in the last two Assembly polls Mr Panda was defeated by Mr Patnaik. All of a sudden wall writings have come up all around the city in the name of Mr Panda against the attempt of transfer of OSRTC land to Reliance.

“In an attempt to gain political mileage from a demand which is more than four decades old the politicians of the city are diluting the issue,” said a senior citizen of the city.

State secretariat member of the CPI(M) Ali Kishore Patnaik, who happens to be a former president of the students’ union of the college, also reached the spot of agitation of the students.

He said governments during past 40 years were to be blamed for not heeding the demand of transfer of OSRTC land to the college.

According to him it needed united stance of all sections of society of the city over the issue rather than it getting politicized for short term political motives.

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