Telangana: UoH ‘relocation’ sparks outcry among student community

University already an eco-park, say students; warn of much stronger protest

Hyderabad: The reported proposal of the State government to relocate the University of Hyderabad (UoH) campus, which over the past half-a-century has painstakingly built itself as an Institute of Eminence, is met with staunch opposition from various quarters.

As per reports in a section of media, the State government is reported to be toying with the idea of shifting the UoH to the proposed Future City and develop the present campus, where angry protests have disrupted the government plan to auction 400 acres of adjoining Kancha Gachibowli land for commercial exploitation, as an eco-park.

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This purported move has drawn widespread condemnation with the university community stating that if that happened, they would be gearing up for another round of protest that would be much stronger than last week’s agitation that halted the deforestation of Kancha Gachibowli land.

Present and former students of the university condemned the plan, stating that it was vengeance against students’ recent vehement protest against land auction in Kancha Gachibowli.

As per the plans cited by a section of media, the Kancha Gachibowli and the UoH campus covering 2,000 acres is to be turned into one of the largest eco-parks. This requires the shifting of the UoH campus, for which the government proposed to allocate a mere 100 acre.

Speaking to ‘Telangana Today’, UoH Students Union president Umesh Ambedkar accused the government of diverting attention from the main issue. “When students are fighting over the university’s original land of 2,300 acres, how can the government come up with a proposal to shift the campus itself? For the last 50 years, several crore rupees were spent on building the university. Any move to shift the campus will meet with much stronger protest from the university community,” he said.

UoH Students Union general secretary Nihad Sulaiman found the government’s plan to be absurd. “The university is already an eco-park. We will staunchly oppose any move to shift the campus,” he said.

For the last several weeks, the university community has been up in arms against the State government’s move to deforest and auction 400 acres of land in Kancha Gachibowli, abutting the UoH campus.

After a rap from the Supreme Court, which stopped all works in the land, the government is said to be considering a proposal to shift the entire UoH campus to a new 100 acres site in the proposed Future City in the city outskirts.

UoH former general secretary Suman Damera said the university campus was already an eco-park where humans and animals have been co-existing.

“I wonder what is the need to deforest 100 acres of land and now come up with an eco-park plan? With thousands of crores, the university, which now achieved the institution of eminence, has been built over a period of 50 years. It appears to be a deliberate move to destroy the public education system in Telangana,” said Damera, who is currently working as assistant professor in Mizoram University.

UoH Registrar Dr Divesh Nigam said neither there was a proposal sent to the varsity nor discussion on campus shifting was held. “Even if the proposal is sent, we will discuss it in the university’s executive council. We will also take guidance from the Ministry of Education on the matter and make a decision,” he added.