The State Government on Monday appeared to have backed out of a move to upgrade the more-than-a-50- year-old College of Fisheries here as an autonomous institute of fisheries research and technology.
It comes after students of the college launched an indefinite strike against the proposal and demanded that the educational institution be upgraded as a university of fisheries sciences by carving it out of the Bidar-based Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University (KVAFSU).
Accordingly, the government withdrew its December 1 order constituting a seven-member expert committee to analyse the pros and cons of upgrading the college as an autonomous institute of fisheries research and technology.
Instead, the government issued a fresh order constituting a nine-member committee which now will have to submit a report on whether the college should be carved out of the KVAFSU to promote it as a university of fisheries sciences or whether it should be retained in its existing form under the university.
The order said that if the committee recommended upgrading the college as a university, its report should have complete details with suggestions on how to set up the university. The alumni association and the students union should be consulted before submitting the report, the December 20 order said and added that the report should be submitted before January 31, 2022.
The order said that the previous order was withdrawn as there was some “confusion” in it.
The new committee is headed by the Commissioner of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services. Director of the Directorate of Fisheries is its member-secretary and scientist and advisor (research and patent) at Nitte Deemed to be University I. Karunasagar is its co-chairman.
The members of the committee are the Chief Executive Officer of Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, the Director of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, the Registrar of University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bengaluru, the Registrar, KVAFSU, the Dean of College of Fisheries and Professor and Head, Fisheries Resource Management of the College of Fisheries.
The new order mentioned that a report by the Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada on July 6, 2021 and another report by the Director of Fisheries on July 13, 2021 said that there is a need to set up an autonomous institute of fisheries research and technology in Mangaluru. The alumni association of the college in its October 4, 2021 letter to the government sought a fisheries sciences university in the city.
Meanwhile, the Mangaluru City Corporation Council passed a resolution in August 2021 seeking university status for the college.
The college, which was established at Yekkur in 1969, was the first of its kind in Southeast Asia. Initially, the college was affiliated to the UAS, Bengaluru. It was brought under the KVAFS in 2005.
On November 11, 2020, chairman of the Karnataka Fisheries Development Corporation and president of Mangaluru Trawl Boat Fishermen Association Nitin Kumar and other stakeholders wrote to then Minister for Fisheries, Ports, and Inland Transport Kota Srinivas Poojary to prevail upon the Government to declare the college as a fisheries university. In a renewed appeal this July, fishermen launched a signature campaign pressing for their demand.
