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Construction delay deprives PG students of classrooms

BU engineer files complaint against VC, alleging harassment
Last Updated 04 March 2012, 20:25 IST

Students of Bangalore University’s (BU) Postgraduate Centre in Kolar will continue to study in the present dilapidated classrooms as the varsity’s under-construction administrative building is unlikely to be ready by March 15, a deadline set by the Vice-Chancellor, N Prabhu Dev.

The contractor, S Shivaraju, says he cannot resume construction as he is yet to receive “appropriate” work order from BU engineer N Puttaswamy, nearly two weeks after the university Syndicate set a deadline of March 15 for the building’s inauguration.

Meanwhile, Puttaswamy has lodged a complaint with police against Prabhu Dev, accusing him of “mentally harassing” him and “intentionally insulting and intimidating” with an “intent” to humiliate him because he belongs to the Scheduled Caste (SC).

Puttaswamy claims the V-C has “wrongly blamed” him for the delay in the construction of the PG Centre. He says he issued the necessary work order on February 22 itself when the Syndicate directed him to do so. “But the defiant contractor did not resume work, claiming he should get all the drawings pertaining to construction of the PG Centre’s remaining work and the payment. I do not possess the said drawings as I have submitted all records of the PG Centre to the Commission of Inquiry which is probing into the matter. The payment should be made by the Finance Officer (FO). Yet, the V-C is blaming me,” Puttaswamy told Deccan Herald.

The BU Engineer was particularly peeved at Prabhu Dev’s February 29 letter to the Syndicate members. The letter read: “The Syndicate had resolved (on February 22) to authorise BU Engineer as a last chance, directing him to issue a fresh work order, along with the required drawings, to the contractor. He, however, has not issued the said documents, as is evident from the contractor’s letter written on February 23. I expect an appropriate response from you... for future course of action to be taken against Puttaswamy for his failure to comply with the Syndicate’s directions.”

Puttaswamy took exception to the letter and said if he had not issued the work order as claimed by the V-C, why didn’t he issue a show-cause notice to me as per the Karnataka Civil Service Rules?”

Unable to bear the “harassment” by Prabhu Dev, he suffered a “heart attack” last Thursday and had to be hospitalised for three days, the engineer claimed. In the police complaint, Puttaswamy alleged that the V-C has been “mentally harassing” him since March 3, 2010. “He blames me for everything that goes wrong,” he said.

Following the complaint, the Jnanabharathi police have booked a case under Section 3 (1) (10) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

Although Prabhu Dev remained unavailable for comment, a senior professor close to him refuted Puttaswamy’s allegations and said the drawings need to be freshly drafted and the ones with the Commission of Inquiry were “haphazardly done”.

“It’s fallacious that the V-C abused Puttaswamy. The V-C was only following rules. With the police complaint, Puttaswamy has tried to give a caste angle to the issue,” said the professor, requesting anonymity.

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(Published 04 March 2012, 20:00 IST)

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