CM's absence at science function irks ex-VC

Expressing disappointment over Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa’s absence at the State’s highest scientific and technical awards function and his ‘skewed’ priorities, Prof M I Savadatti, former vice-chancellor of Mangalore University on Wednesday spoke out against the government’s lack of enthusiasm towards science and technology.

One of the 17 recipients who got the Sir M Visvesvaraya award for his contribution to the community as a senior scientist for the year 2009, Prof Savadatti spoke out against the chief minister’s absence for conferring the awards, and said it indicated his interest towards the field of science and technology.

“If I send you Rs 1,000 by mail and if I come to your house to give Rs 1,000, which is more respectful” he asked a metaphorical question. Yeddyurappa sent a word to IISc apologising for his absence on account of the upcoming by-elections in the State.

Savadatti attributed the chief minister skipping the awards ceremony to misplaced priorities. “The awards should have been an event where the chief minister came and gave a pat on the scientists’ back for their achievements and the contribution they have made to the society,” he said.

Meanwhile, sounding a word of caution over the State Government’s lack of funding towards the field of science, he said that lack of monetary support for the scientists would mark the death of their ambitions to apply their thinking on-field.

 “Scientists will only write in the journals and theory papers but never experiment it. It will only be restricted to the annals of various journals recording their efforts,” he said.
He ridiculed the four time increase in allocations for Science and Technology in the State budget and asked the minister for the department, Krishna J Palemar to increase the State funding at least 20 to 25 times more than that has been allocated towards the field.  

Meanwhile, Professor C N R Rao, chairman of Karnataka's vision group on science and technology conferred the Sir M Visveswaraya award for senior scientist on former Atomic Energy Chairman, M R Srinivasan for the year 2008. Apart from them, 15 others were conferred with the Raja Ramanna and Prof Satish Dhawan awards in the field of science and engineering.

The Kalpana Chawla awards for the year 2008 and 2009 went to Dr T N Sathyaprabha, additional professor of neurophysiology, Nimhans and Dr Asna Urooj, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Mysore. The awards were conferred on scientists and engineers after a gap of three years.