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Kerala govt stirs hornet's nest over college land

After the recent row over the installation of a statue of the late E M S Namboodiripad, the Communist Party of India-Marxist-led coalition in Kerala is once again on the defensive with its proposed move to acquire a portion of the University College's land in Thiruvanthapuram.

The move by the Thiruvananthapuram Development Authority to acquire a portion of the land of the 133-year-old college was initiated in a bid to widen the roads leading to the CPI-M's headquarters -- AKG Centre -- and create better parking facilities.

However, the move has stirred a hornet's nest with a number of leading personalities, including former students of the prestigious college, and a number of associations coming out against it. Even Leftist sympathisers have flayed the decision.

Urging the government to reconsider its decision, Professor O N V Kurup, a known Left wing thinker, said it was not the first time that the college was being targeted in the name of development -- earlier, there were attempts to fell mahogany trees in the college campus. The Kerala Kalamandalam chairman, who is also a former professor of the college, felt that the government should hold discussions with the people concerned before arriving at a decision.

Assembly Speaker M Vijayakumar, however, has assured that a hasty decision would not be taken on the sensitive issue, he said.

UNI

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