Work on PG centre to restart finally

Bangalore University Syndicate gives contractors March 15 deadline

Work on the administrative section of the Postgraduate (PG) Centre of Bangalore University (BU) at Mangasandra on the outskirts of the city is to restart full scale from Monday.

The construction work is waiting since several years for completion.

Responding to a protest staged by the PG Centre students on February 22, when the Syndicate,  BU’s highest decision-making body met in Bangalore, the Syndicate decided to complete the construction of the administrative as well as other sections immediately.

Contractor S Shivaraju was issued a fresh work order by the BU engineer Puttaswamy N on February 22 to complete the construction of the Centre.

Two days later, on Friday morning, Puttaswamy, assistant executive engineer Chandrashekhar, assistant engineer Krishna Reddy, Shivaraju and PG Centre director Dr C Nagabhushan visited the construction site.

Sources told Deccan Herald the construction will commence on Monday.
In addition, members of the team visited the Bescom office in Kolar city regarding electricity connection to the Centre. The site for the Centre is situated in the Vakkaleri rural area of the Bescom and the team consulted the assistant executive engineers Ravindra and Ashok, the concerned officers, to discuss the matter, said sources.

“Steps were taken to ensure the Bescom provides a separate transformer and power connection to the Centre.”

They added that tiles were being fit into the toilets in the administrative section. “Taking into consideration the chances of iron bars rusting and wearing off quickly, aluminium is being used for the windows.”

The tardy pace of work on the construction of the PG Centre has set a historic record.
Sources in the Centre feel the fact that the Syndicate ordered the contractors to complete the work the very day the students protested outside the Centre is a unique occurrence.

Assistance

They said, with the BU Vice-Chancellor, registrars and the Syndicate having given the green signal, the contractors and engineers had to cooperate with each other to complete the work.

Puttaswamy has directed Shivaraju to start the work immediately, after obtaining necessary instructions from the Assistant Executive Engineer of the University.

The deadline, set for March 15, has raised fresh hopes among the students and staff at the Centre.

Imprisoned in apathy

The PG Centre was established 13 years ago and work on the construction of the building was started five years ago.

The students and teachers, however, continue to struggle for survival in dilapidated tiled-roof buildings in the City.

Deprived of own building, the Centre is forced to conduct classes on the campus of the Government First Grade College in the City.

The building allotted to the Centre, ironically, was a prison building during the British era. Today, Kannada, Economics, Social Work and Commerce classes are organised in the rooms of the building. Also, the toilets for boys and girls has a common entrance.

There is one, congested staff room. The office of the director of the Centre and the administrative office are both in one room.

The students are denied the facility of a reading room and books of all sections are stuffed into bureaus in a small room.