Students to intensify stir

OU land for housing scheme

Hyderabad: The students of Osmania University have threatened to intensify the protest against Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s decision to construct houses for residents on university land. The Nava Telangana Vidyarthi JAC has given a call for OU Bandh on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, students laid siege to the university Registrar Prof E Suresh Kumar’s office. However, the Registrar was not available. Students alleged that registrar had colluded with the government and was ready to give away the land. They demanded the Registrar to release the white paper on the university lands.

“Registrar wants to become Vice-Chancellor and the Chief Minister had promised the same to him. He had been out of the reach ever since the news broke out and is silent on the issue,” said Kadiyam Raju, National Secretary, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). But it appears that the Chief Minister too is in no mood to relent.

Speaking at Boudha Nagar, Eshwaribai Nagar and L N Nagar areas in Secunderabad Assmebly segment on Tuesday, he said he was a stubborn man, who would not back off once he takes any decision. KCR expressed his ire against few sections for opposing government’s decision to construct permanent houses on varsity lands.

He said some politicians were backing those who were burning effigies of Chief Minister. Terming them anti-poor, he accused them of not taking concrete steps while in power. They do not wish to see poorer sections get a better and respectable living, KCR lamented.

For building houses for poor, government needs open lands and they would not be created by any magic wand by KCR, he felt. According to KCR, universities do not require thousands of acres with huge tract of open lands rarely found in urban areas at present.