Students of the Government First Grade College have opposed the plan to construct a Mini-Vidhana Soudha on the college grounds at Hebri in Udupi district. Hebri became a taluk headquarters two years ago.
Addressing presspersons here on Friday, Sumanth Shetty, president of the College Student Council, said 485 students were studying in the college.
The college had 25 acres and 12 cents of land with it. Already plans had been drawn up to construct a students’ hostel, a library, an indoor stadium, a 400-m track, and other facilities on this land. But the government was planning to construct a Mini-Vidhana Soudha on 5 acres of this of land. The construction of the Mini-Vidhana Soudha would affect the development plans of the college. Students would be distracted by needless political agitations, he said.
Presently, the Taluk Office at Hebri functions from the Old Community Health Centre building located on 2 acres of land near the main bus stand. A Mini-Vidhana Soudha could be built on this 2 acres of land as people could easily approach it, he said.
A couple of years ago, the district administration had identified 11 acres and 35 cents of land at the nearby Chara village for the construction of the Mini-Vidhana Soudha.
“The government can choose between these two sites or look for any other place. We are not against the Mini-Vidhana Soudha. Our only request is that the land allotted to the college in 1988 should be not touched,” he said.
“If the government goes ahead with its plan of constructing the Mini-Vidhana Soudha on our college grounds, we will launch an agitation. We have also brought this matter to the notice of the local MLA, V. Sunil Kumar,” Mr. Sumanth Shetty said.
Sridhar Shetty, social worker, said he had lodged a complaint with the Lokayukta on this matter.
Hemanth Shetty, Suraj, and Akshay Naik, all student leaders, were present.
