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Kolkata:
The Visva Bharati University was on Monday shut down indefinitely following violent protests in opposition to the varsity’s resolution to assemble a boundary wall across the venue of Poush Mela, a prestigious annual cultural occasion began greater than a century in the past.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee got here out in opposition to the fencing, whereas Governor Jagdeep Dhankar expressed concern over the state of affairs.
Trouble erupted on the Visva Bharati campus in Monday as numerous folks ransacked the college’s properties protesting erection of the boundary wall of the honest floor.
Sources mentioned that the college authorities had determined to fence the bottom the place the annual winter carnival began in 1894 by Debendranath Tagore, father of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, is held and the development work began within the morning.
Following the incidents of violence, the varsity authorities determined to carry the matter to the discover of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who can also be the Hon’ble Chancellor of the college, and determined to shut down the college campus until the state of affairs improves.
However, admission, examination course of and emergency providers can be taken care of.
The Trinamool Congress authorities condemned the violence, however threw its weight behind the protestors, as West Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee mentioned she does not need any development to happen on that website and has requested the district administration to name assembly of the stakeholders.
According to district officers, rigidity between the locals and the college authorities have been simmering for previous few days over the latter’s resolution to assemble a boundary wall across the venue of the honest held within the Bengali month of Poush, often December-end.
On Saturday miffed by the choice of Visva Bharati to name off “Poush Mela” from this year, a local traders’ body prevented the university authorities from erecting a boundary wall along with the fair ground.
The tension snowballed into large scale violence after 4,000 people assembled near the campus this morning and then entered ransacking some properties and pulling down one of the university gates built outside the ground using a JCB machine.
On the basis of the suo moto complaint lodged by police eight persons have been arrested in connection with Monday’s vandalism,” Shyam Singh, SP, Birbhum mentioned.
According to sources, Trinamool Congress MLA from Dubrajpur, Naresh Bauri, who can also be a former pupil of Visva Bharati, was current when ransacking was happening.
“I am present here not as a TMC leader but as a former student of the university. The construction of the boundary wall is unacceptable. The university authorities are behaving strangely,” Mr Bauri mentioned.
The development employees have been thrashed, and the short-term camp workplace was additionally razed to the bottom
Sources mentioned a wall across the subject was wanted in order that “outsiders” don’t get entry to it, which had angered the native merchants.
The college authorities mentioned that the fence is required to honour verdict of the National Green Tribunal, which had on November 1, 2017, mentioned {that a} “barrier needs to be constructed to demarcate the Mela ground from the university and the locality.”
While reacting to the violence, the college authorities in a press assertion mentioned they’ve determined to close down the campus till the state of affairs turns into regular.
“Given vandalism today leading to the destruction of university property worth several lakhs (of Rupees) due to the complete absence of police deployment in spite of having two police stations within the university campus, it is decided to bring this to the notice of the Hon’ble Chancellor (Prime Minister),” the college mentioned in a press assertion.
“Given the volatile situation in the campus, and also the threat to many colleagues with dire consequences, it has been unanimously resolved in the meeting of all directors, Principals and HODs to close the university till the situation improves,” it mentioned.
The district administration has convened a gathering of Visva Bharati authorities and different stakeholders on Wednesday to look into the matter.
The incident triggered a political face-off between the TMC authorities and the opposition events and Raj Bhawan which accused it of not doing sufficient to avert the violence.
Underscoring that Visva Bharati is a central college, Ms Banerjee had mentioned that she had a phrase with the governor relating to Monday’s violence on the honest floor and informed him that the state authorities’s function within the matter was “limited” and blamed the “outsiders for trying to protect the construction.”
“The governor had called me. We had a discussion over the violence that took place on the ground. I told him that Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore founded it with a vision to celebrate different festivals… I also told him that I don’t want any construction to take place on that ground.
“There have been outsiders who have been attempting to guard the development,” she said.
Earlier in the day, West Bengal Governor expressed concern over the situation and said the status of law and order in Visva Bharati is alarming.
“The occasions that unfolded in the course of the day have tarnished the picture of state of West Bengal and have been adversely impactful on the working of the celebrated establishment Visva Bharati. All exemplary steps @MamataOfficial should be taken to salvage the state of affairs on the earliest,” Mr Dhankhar tweeted.
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh mentioned, vested curiosity in tacit understanding with native TMC management, was attempting to seize the land of Visva-Bharati.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
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