JOIN USPolice station on BU campus caught in land controversy
The construction work on the controversial one acre land next to the Administrative Block of Bangalore University on Jnanabharathi campus has been temporarily stalled. This piece of land has been a bone of contention between the police and the university.
The university had given four acres of land to the police near the vice-chancellor's house on the campus. Some time last year, the police officials placed a request before the university to give them one acre of land in a more ‘accessible part’ of the university, assuring that they would return one acre of land from the earlier allotted four acres.
This one acre was meant to construct a new building for the police station in a central area of the campus that could be easily accessed by the public.
Bangalore University officials alleged that former Registrar (Administration) of the varsity, Mylarappa, gave away the one acre of land that was requested for, right next to the university Administrative Block, without consulting anyone or getting the consent of the then vice-chancellor.
The problem started three days ago, when work on the new police station began next to the administrative block. University Vice-Chancellor Prof B Thimme Gowda alleged that the land in possession of the police was not allotted legitimately.
He said no understanding had been reached with the police and neither a resolution was passed in the Syndicate.
He alleged that the former registrar (administration) gave the land through a letter written to the Jnanabharathi police without following due procedure.
Academic ambience
On July 19, after the cleaning work began on the said land, the VC requested the Jnanbharathi police to immediately give instructions to stop the work.
“They were very rude to me. I later wrote a letter to the police commissioner,” Prof Thimme Gowda said. The VC said the university did not want the police station next to the administrative block.
“It will spoil the academic atmosphere. It is one of the busiest parts of the university. Apart from overcrowding the place, it will also spoil the ambience for students on the campus. Moreover, we keep getting foreign delegates often. The first thing they would see after the administrative block will be the police station. This is the reason why we are opposing the plan. We are ready to give them the same one acre in any other part of the university that would be accessible to the public.” The university has alternative land near the Mysore Road entrance of the university or near Kalagrama.
“We will not fight with the university over the land. If the university is ready to allot us the land in another part, we will go by it. We will sort it out peacefully across the table,” said Police Commissioner Raghavendra H Auradkar.