Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
Adieu to RAGGING
Students display a poster on 'ragging'
Though very small in size, the message on the poster is very clear. It reads:"Say good-bye to ragging, all of us are friends."
A handful of such posters, designed by Sneha (I year B.Com.) and Luke Williams (III year B.Sc.) of the Pydah Degree College, convey their determination to fight against the evil practice of ragging.
Luke Williams
These posters on display at an elocution-cum-seminar organised on the Andhra Pradesh Prohibition of Ragging Act last week-end at Lankapalli Bullayya College amplified their resolve against ragging.
"Why should any senior subject the freshers to any sort of harassment? It should only be an interactive session where one should know each other in a dignified way instead of ragging
someone just because they had faced ragging when they were juniors," says Sneha.
Happily, the student community as a whole seems to be up in arms against ragging this time. And the Srilakshmi incident of Vijayawada appears to have further strengthened their resolve, though the circumstances leading to her death were not technically a case of ragging.
Priyanka
But one thing which is praiseworthy and deserves kudos from everybody is the formation of disciplinary committees by the college managements concerned. The panels are seeing to it that no teasing or misbehaviour cases took place on the campus. A special vigil is being kept in classrooms, canteen, library, bus stops and other vulnerable points.
"Last year we suspended a couple of students for their misbehaviour. This time, we have stepped up vigilance, and so far, we have not received a single complaint," asserts M.
Narendra Kumar, as assistant professor in-charge of enforcing discipline in the Pydah College of Engineering.Interestingly, students, particularly the seniors, are evincing interest in taking the lead in the campaign against ragging.
For Madhavi Rao, who is in B.Tech. (III year) in Pydah Engineering College, the college atmosphere is quite pleasant and everyone is feeling "very comfortable".
Madhavi Rao
She admits candidly on how she had an unpleasant experience when her seniors tried to misbehave with her at Gayatri Degree College before her admission into the engineering course and feels that all should encourage having interaction sessions with the new-comers, albeit in the presence of teachers.
Priyanka, who is studying B.Sc. (I year) in Gayatri Vidya Parishad College, says that she finds Visakhapatnam a better city compared to Kolkata from where she has come. "In fact,
Visakhapatnam got the best women-friendly city award in the world recently. Even outside the campus also, we are finding it secure," opines she.
Policemen keeping a tab on eve-teasing at Bullayya College --- Photos:C.V.SUBRAHMANYAM.
The police have fully geared to prevent ragging this year. Of course, the "ragging season" will be in full swing only after the admissions into engineering and medicine are completed in the next few weeks.
The Commissioner of Police, B. Prasada Rao, who took the initiative to hold a meeting with the managements of colleges on how to prevent ragging/eve-teasing, declares that the police are totally committed to prevent ragging.
The police feel that the college managements do also have an {Scaron}equal responsibility in curbing the menace. "The onus also lies with the managements. They should bring to our notice specific cases of eve-teasing," Dr. Prasad says, adding that they have intensified patrolling and in some cases, posting cops in mufti as decoys to bring to book persons who subject girl students to teasing at bus stops and other places.
* * *
Bags top honour
The Sangeetha Vidwan, Puranam Purushottama Sastry has been chosen for the `Samaikya Bharat Swarna Puraskar' for 2004 by the Madras Telugu Academy. The award would be presented to him at the Samaikya Bharat Gaurav Purashkar 2004 (formerly known as Ugadi Purashkar) at the 117th cultural exchange programme to be held in association with Sri Thyagaraja Gana Sabha in Hyderabad on July 27.
The award, carrying Rs.25,000 in cash, is being presented in recognition of the relentless and devoted services of Mr. Sastry to Carnatic music. One of the highlights of the programme will be a veena recital by S. Srivani of Visakhapatnam, who will be accompanied by Aravind on the mridangam and V. Sreedharachari on the ghatam, according to the founder and chief convenor of MTA, T.V.K. Sastry.
Sadguru Sivananda Murthy of Sivananda Ashram (Bheemunipatnam) would participate as chief guest. The Minister for Revenue, Dharmana Prasada Rao, would be guest of honour and the veteran actor, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, would preside over the function.
Born in August 1925, Puranam Purushottam Sastry hails from a family of musicians. His father, Sangeeta Vidwan, Kanakaiah Sastry, was the aasthana musician for Mysore, Gadwal and Wanaparthy Samsthanams.
He had initial training from his father and later from the veteran Musiri Subrahmanya Iyer. He was a cultural scholar of the Government of India in vocal music and has been honoured with a monthly honorarium for lifetime by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. He is presently examiner for M.A. (music) of Telugu University.
* * *
BEWARE OF THE PENALTY
The AP Prohibiton of Ragging Act has the following penal provisions against those who commit ragging and those who abet the crime:
Teasing and causing embarrassment or humiliation of a student shall be punished with a jail term of up to six months or a fine extending to Rs.1,000, or both;
Maximum one year jail for applying force for criminal intimidation or a fine of Rs.2,000, or both;
Wrongful confinement or hurting a student attracts punishment up to two years or a fine up to Rs.5,000, or both;
Ragging causing grievous injury or kidnaps or rape or unnatural offence attracts maximum five years in jail or a fine up to Rs.10,000, or both;Causing death or abetting suicide is punishable with life imprisonment or rigorous imprisonment up to 10 years or fine extending up to Rs. 50,000;
Student getting a jail term for ragging is automatically dismissed from the institution where he studies;
Those awarded jail for six or more months are debarred from taking admission into any educational institution;
Immediately after prima facie evidence on the involvement of a student, the head of the institution shall suspend him;
The HoD or manager of the institution will be punished for abetment if he fails to take action as stipulated under the Act against persons committing ragging;
If a student commits suicide due to or in consequence of ragging, the person who has committed such ragging shall be deemed to have abetted such suicide.
SANTOSH PATNAIK
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
|
