Students of Veterinary College in Hassan staged a protest on the campus on Friday, alleging that people from the neighbouring localities had barged into the campus and assaulted them on Thursday evening. Power supply to the ladies hostel had been also disrupted, forcing the students to spend the night without light and water, they claimed.
The students got into a heated argument with residents of Chikkahonnenahalli and Haralahalli late on Thursday evening over a borewell on campus to meet the drinking water needs of the locals. The residents, under the leadership of H.S. Prakash, Hassan MLA, had staged a protest on Thursday afternoon demanding that a borewell on the campus be handed over to Haralahalli Gram Panchayat.
In the evening, the GP officers brought earth movers to the campus and dug it up to lay a pipeline to connect the borewell to the main line supplying water to neighbouring localities. The students protested against this, arguing that the water on campus was insufficient for hostels and college activities. It is said that the students had come to blows with the locals. Amid protests, panchayat officials succeeded in laying the pipeline. “As they dug the ground to lay the pipeline, power cables were damaged, disrupting power supply,” said the college staff.
Mr. Prakash and his supporters maintained that taking over the borewell was inevitable to provide drinking water for the locals. “The Assistant Commissioner of Hassan had already issued an executive order to take over the borewell. The college authorities should have cooperated with the local administration to implement the order,” he said.
The MLA said the students were not hurt in the incident. “People from surrounding villages have given up their land for the college. The borewells they drilled years ago are now on the campus. There is nothing wrong in taking over the this borewell to meet the needs of the public,” he added.
