Will return honorary doctorate: Environmentalist on BU’s land allotment

Suresh Heblikar

Environmentalists like A N Yellappa Reddy and Suresh Heblikar have slammed Bangalore University for offering a large parcel of the Jnanabharathi campus land to build three institutes.

Participating in a webinar organised by Reach-out Bengaluru on Saturday, Reddy said the site chosen to set up the Inter-University Centre for Yogic Sciences defeats decades-long efforts to create biodiversity in the campus.

Reddy felt it unfortunate that the varsity did not contact him before deciding to allow the institute and declared that he would return the honorary doctorate conferred on him by BU for creating biodiversity on the campus.

Criticising BU’s irrational decision, T J Renuka Prasad, former coordinator of Biopark and professor of Geology, recalled the efforts by hundreds of people for the past 20 years to develop greenery on the 600-acre campus.

Heblikar, elaborating on the destruction caused by developmental projects, especially the linear projects like road development, suggested that environmentalists should contact the chief minister and education minister to save the campus.

The recent land allotment for the Inter-University Centre for Yogic Sciences, Gulbarga Central University and CBSE by BU has been opposed by several associations, environmentalists and citizens.