The decision taken by the district administration and the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University to construct a constituent college at Panagudi near the Western Ghats has earned the wrath of the students.
When the college was started on September 23, 2009, the then Radhapuram MLA, M. Appavu, allotted ₹3 lakh from his Constituency Development Fund for the construction of the building besides arranging ₹30 lakh under self-sufficiency scheme. The foundation was laid for the new building on a temple land by the then Finance Minister, K. Anbazhagan, on February 26, 2011.
“The change of government hit the work. The land identified for the building, about 3 km west of Panagudi and situated on the stretch to Kuththarapaanjaan Falls is inaccessible to students. Wild animal invasion is also taking place. The authorities should review the decision to construct the building,” said Mr. Appavu. He suggested that 2.50 acres of land near the Panagudi police station or five acres of unused temple land could be used.
Nanguneri MLA H. Vasanthakumar and leaders of Congress, MDMK and CPI(M) have submitted a memorandum to Collector Sandeep Nanduri.
Students, who are attending the classes being conducted in a temporary building donated by industrialist Victor of Panagudi are not happy. “Reaching the college will be a challenge for girls as there is no proper road between Panagudi and the spot and no bus is being operated now,” they said.
Vice-Chancellor K. Baskar said the university required at least 5 acres of land for a constituent college and could construct the building only on land identified by the district administration. “The university has nothing to say in this regard as the construction has begun on a land identified by it.”
Mr. Sandeep Nanduri said construction worth ₹10 lakh had been completed long ago. When the selection of the site was challenged in court, the petition was dismissed. “Besides laying a road between Panagudi and the college site, steps will be taken to operate buses to make the spot easily accessible once the construction is completed. Dropping this project at this stage after investing a hefty sum is not advisable.”
