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Time of India
24-05-2025
- Time of India
Utkal students seek eviction of encroachers
1 2 Bhubaneswar: Encroachment on the Utkal University campus has not been cleared for a long time, alleged students on Saturday. Around 30 acres out of 398.9 acres of university land have been encroached by slum dwellers. The area, if reclaimed, will help the institute with future expansion, they said. Students said the area behind the two boys' hostels has a slum. A few families were staying there some years ago, but now the size is getting bigger. They have constructed cow sheds, backyard poultry and kitchen gardens on the encroached land. Sachidananda Moharana, a PG student, said slum dwellers of Patharbandha have created a passage by damaging the boundary wall of the university. "They mostly use the road passing through the university campus. Sometimes non-students create a ruckus on the campus and use the route to flee," he added. He said a few family members of some retired employees are also staying in the staff quarters. Apart from the slum, he said, some staff quarters have been used unauthorisedly by people from outside. "Why are they not being evicted from the university campus?" he asked. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Saswat Anurag Sahu, another PG student, alleged that some university staff don't leave the staff quarters even after retirement. "Some of the serving staff, staying outside the campus in apartments, put the staff quarters on rent. Outsiders staying in the staff quarters on rent misuse the facilities for illegal work. Recently, drugs were seized from a staff quarter," he added. Students have been demanding closing of the porous boundary walls for the sake of security. Debesh Dash, a law student, said outsiders enter the university via three sides and create problems on the campus. "What's the point of guarding two gates with security systems if our boundaries are open in three places?" he added. "I do not know why a slum is on the campus. Why is it not being shifted? We want our campus to have closed boundaries with properly guarded gates and be free from encroachment," said another student. Students have staged protests in front of the office of the vice-chancellor several times earlier, demanding restrictions on the entry of outsiders, security on the campus, and an encroachment-free campus. The last protest was on April 24. Registrar Mrutyunjay Panda told TOI that the university has raised the issue with the state govt several times. "Former VC Sabita Acharya wrote letters to the govt to resolve the encroachment issue," he added.
Time of India
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Utkal students gherao VC's office
1 2 Bhubaneswar: Raising various pressing issues affecting the premier Utkal University, students staged a protest in front of the vice-chancellor's office here on Thursday. They demanded strengthening of the security system for students inside the campus and eviction of slum dwellers encroaching upon university land. The students alleged that some university staff don't vacate the staff quarters even after retirement. "Some of the serving staff, staying outside the campus in apartments, rent out the staff quarters. Outsiders staying in the staff quarters on rent misuse the facility for illegal work," said Sachidananda Moharana, a PG student. He said recently illegal drugs were seized from a staff quarter. "The staff should know that university property should not be misused in any way," he added. Debesh Dash, a law student, said outsiders enter the university via three sides and create problems on the campus. "What's the point of guarding two gates if our boundaries have openings at three places?" he added. Slum dwellers are rearing pigs inside the campus. "I fail to uderstand why a slum has been created inside the campus. Why is it not being shifted from the campus? We want our campus to have closed boundaries with properly guarded gates and be free from encroachment," said another student. Amit Jena, an alumnus of the university, said the university is treating its alumni as non-students. "The issue should not be diverted by driving alumni away from hostels. Many poor alumni are preparing for UPSC, OPSC, SSC, and other competitive exams. They will not create any problem for the university. They cannot stay outside by paying hefty rents. So, some of them are staying with students for preparation and studying in the library," he added. The Utkal University unit of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) started an indefinite hunger strike from Thursday, demanding action against sale of liquor or illegal drugs on the campus, driving non-students out of the hostels, and tightening security on the campus. Utkal University vice-chancellor Sabita Acharya assured students of help. "We have written letters to the govt to take action against encroachment inside the university campus. We will also discuss with appropriate authorities to look into the matter," she added. She said the university has issued notices to non-students staying inside the hostels. "A few retired people are staying in the staff quarters. They will be leaving in four months," she said.
