All constructions do not add aesthetic value to an area: CM

Kolkata: Vilonce unleashed at Santiniketan on Monday morning as thousands of people went to the Pous Mela ground and pulled down the boundary wall which the Visva Bharati authorities were putting up.

They were protesting against the decision of the university to put up the wall and thereby stopping the access of local people to the ground. The Visva Bharati authorities closed the university for an indefinite period till normalcy is restored.

Criticizing the decision the students said it was unfortunate that the authorities were "trying to make a non-issue an issue. Today's incident had nothing to do with the academic environment of the university. Local people did not enter the university campus." The final year students met the Vice-Chancellor Prof Bidyut Chakraborty and expressed their willingness to sit for the examination which is scheduled to be held in September.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she was against any construction at the mela ground. "All constructions do not add aesthetic value to an area and those affecting the natural beauty should not be carried out," she said. She also instructed the district administration to take up the matter with the Vice-Chancellor, students and representatives of the local people to settle the matter amicably. She said it was a central university the police could not enter the campus unless being summoned by the vice chancellor. "We want the peace to restore at Santiniketan," she said.

She told newsmen that the Governor had called her up "after a tweet in this regard." She said: "I told him that Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore had always wanted to provide education to students amidst nature. The festivals like Basanta Utsav and Pous Mela were introduced so that people could come to close to each other and nature. The education that was imparted had helped the students to widen the domain of their knowledge and mind."The relation between the Byabosayee Samity and Prof Chakraborty had hit the rock bottom after the latter stopped Bhanga Mela which is normaly held after three days of Pous Mela from December 23 to 25 in 2019. The V-C along with his security personnel went to the mela ground and pulled down some of the stalls and took away the wares from some stalls. Four FIRs had been initiative against him following the incident.

A spokesman for the Babosayee Samity alleged that the V-C had refused to refund the deposit money the traders had given for the stalls at the mela in December 2019. It was reliably learnt that the money that had not been returned and was used to set up the boundary wall. The university authorities began to put up a boundary wall on Saturday. Local people requested the university authorities to drop the idea and not to go ahead with the construction.

On August 16, the university sent a notice signed by Asha Mukherjee, acting registrar to the teachers, non-teaching staffs requesting them to assemble infront of the central office at 8.30am. The notice read: "Tomorrow please come and join us in front of Central Office at 8.30am with as many people as possible to protect our Mela Ground as Bolpur Byabasayee Samity has beaten up our contractor." Some teachers alleged that the notice "made it clear that the V-C had planned to create a trouble as the teachers' and non-teaching staff had been requested to bring as many people as possible."

The Visva Bharati authorities demanded stern action against those involved in the vandalism that caused "damage to the property worth lakhs of rupees. The authorities alleged that the despite letters the district administration to clamp prohibitory order under Section 144 CrPC, no action was taken.

It was learnt that the university had sent the notice to the BJP workers in their whatsapp group. Mamata Banerjee said without naming the BJP: "Some outsiders were present to protect the construction."

Local people brought tractors and took away the construction materials. Two gates, one set up on the approach road to the university campus from Bhubandanga and near the branch of State Bank of India were pulled down by the local people. None of the university staffs and security personnel who were present on the ground was attacked by the local people.