NONGPOH: The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) has decided not to allow the College of Agriculture (CoA) at Kyrdemkulai in Ri Bhoi district to function if its demand for a Central Agricultural University (CAU) is not met.
The CoA is affiliated to Central Agricultural University, Imphal.
Intensifying their protest, KSU leaders and members along with the land owners and residents of Umsning area on Friday visited the site of the under-construction CoA at Kyrdemkulai.
Sending a strong message to the central government, the union members also deleted the word ‘college’ and ‘Imphal’ using colour spray from the existing signboard and erected its own mentioning ‘Central Agricultural University, Kyrdemkulai’.
Speaking to media persons, KSU general secretary Donald V Thabah said that for the interest of the people of the state and especially the student community, the union will not allow the CoA to function unless the central government sets up a full-fledged agricultural university as promised right from the time land owners had handed over the land for the purpose.
“We do not want a college to be remote controlled from Imphal. A university with its base and headquarter here in Kyrdemkulai area is what the people of the state want,” Thabah said adding that there is no point allowing this institute to function unless it benefits the people of the state.
Thabah also said the union had earlier met state’s Minister of Agriculture Banteidor Lyngdoh and had informed him that the purpose of giving the land measuring more than 220 acres by the owners was to set up a university and not a college, adding that the union had even written to the then Union Minister of Agriculture in this regard.
“We have seen the functioning of the College of Post Graduate Studies at Umiam, which is under the CAU, Imphal. It has not benefitted the people of the state much and there are only two or three research scholars from the state. Even in matters of employment, only a few locals were employed whereas most of the employees were from outside the state. We do not want the same thing to happen again,” Thabah said.
He also that the Union will not sit idle on this matter, and if the central government goes ahead with the CoA, a time will come when the union will have no option but to shut it down.
Thabah further urged the Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma to talk with the Union government for setting up a university as proposed in 2010 before the land was handed over to the government.
Panora Kharsati, one of the land owners, also said that the government in a proposal while acquiring her land had stated that a university will be set up, therefore “in good faith I have sold my land at a very low rate because I know if such a university comes up, new avenues and benefits will be there for my people. But it is sad to learn now that they have fooled us and changed it into a college instead of a university,” Kharsati said, adding that she fully supports the move of the union and the people of the state in protesting against this double standard.
