: The governing council of the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) appears to be a divided house over the cricket stadium project with the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA).
Congress MLA T.N. Prathapan, who is a member of the governing council of KUFOS, has opposed the move to hand over the varsity ground to KCA for 25 years.
Explaining that he could not attend the governing council meet that approved the deal with KCA owing to official work in his constituency, Mr. Prathapan said that KUFOS figured among the varsities in the State, which had the potential to grow considerably in the future.
“This land, which was earlier under the Kerala Agricultural University, is an asset that could be used for stepping up basic infrastructure of KUFOS.
“The varsity could use its own funds, if it intends to develop its own playground. Hence I am against handing over the land to KCA,” he told The Hindu .
Mr. Prathapan said that such a decision could not be taken by the varsity without the full quorum of its governing council.
The university authorities must issue a notice to all members, including this item in the agenda for the next governing council meet, he said.
Extending his support to the project, Dominic Presentation, Congress MLA, and governing council member told The Hindu that it’s similar to the handing over of the Greater Cochin Development Authority’s (GCDA) international cricket stadium at Kaloor to the cricket association for 30 years.
“KCA will invest around Rs. 5 crore to develop a standard ground as per mutually beneficial terms under a MoU to be signed with KUFOS. The control over the ground will remain with the university and it will be given to KCA only after the varsity’s needs are met,” he said.
T.N. Prathapan said
that KUFOS figured among the top universities in the State and had the potential to grow considerably in
the future.
