City of veterinary sciences set to lose 'ground'

Govt decides to allocate land by 2011 observed as veterinary science year

Bangalore’s conducive atmosphere (which includes the vet college), the climate and the love for pets in general had managed to push forward developments in the science for long. However, it is now on the verge of becoming a history with the college - that made all this possible for the past five decades - set to lose its recognition, courtesy the State government.

“The faculty and the students together strived to make it one of the best colleges in the country. We built it brick by brick to achieve this distinction,” said Dr Abdul Rehman, the former Dean of the college.

He noted that the college began with just eight departments when the grants were meagre and today is one of the leading colleges in the country with over 20 under-graduate departments and an equal number of post-graduate courses.

With not even staff quarters existing there, the College feels that the government’s decision for judges’ quarters will divide the campus. “There is plenty of  land available in the City. Do they need our land? At least, the judiciary, we thought would have rejected the proposal but it is rather unfortunate that it did not happen,” Rehman said.

Mysore Kennel Club President and Pet Practitioners Association of Karnataka Technical Committee Chairman L Ranganath says that the City has the highest number of pet Practitioners ranging between 300- 350.  “This includes the full time Practitioners and  part-time Practitioners catering to the clinical and minor surgical requirements of the pets and livestock in Bangalore,” he said, adding that all of them have graduated from this college.

Further, Rehman pointed out that the college was doing well and had even finalised development of a super-speciality hospital with the help of an American University and Tata Foundation but the hope is bleak now.

The irony of the decision to allocate the land to the judges’ quarters by 2011 is that the year will be observed as the year of veterinary science to mark the beginning of Veterinary science in 1761. And the year-long event was being planned beginning from December 24, 2010 –– the day the Government decided on the allocation.The first veterinary training institute was established at Lyon in France.

Morning walkers’ lung space
The decision of the State government to allot land for judges’ quarters at the Veterinary College has angered the nearby residents as lung space being premium around the City.  For, the college grounds is frequented by residents of Sanjaynagar, Ashwathnagar, Ganganagar, and Hebbal for morning walks.

P Manjunath, a resident of Sanjaynagar and Secretary Green Cross, says nearly 2,000 residents use the college grounds for morning walk. “The veterinary college is ideal for morning walks with lots of trees and ample ecospace”, he said. Though there are two parks in Sanjaynagar, they are tiny, with both of them having a radius of less than 100 feet, he added.

 “This was the nearest place for my parents to have a good long walk away from the traffic. Now, they will have to go somewhere as far as Cubbon park, which will not be practical, everyday,” said Nisar Ahmed, a resident of Ashwathnagar. 

Dr Balasubramaniam, a resident of AECS Layout fears the possible increase in pollution. “Ever since the new airport opened up, vehicular traffic has increased substantially, and there has been a lot of pollution in and around the area. If the veterinary campus loses its lung space, the pollution is only going to get worse.”