Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: Activists of the All Orissa BPUT students’ Association (AOBSA) took to the streets by stopping traffic and burning tyres at Master Canteen square to protest alleged black flag demonstration against Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) vice-chancellor during an alumni meet at a hotel in the city Sunday.
The protestors held up traffic during peak hour from 6pm to 7pm and damaged a couple of vehicles when motorists tried to break the blockade. A fire brigade was also found stuck in the jam. The Kharvelnagar police, however, reached the spot and cleared the traffic.
Satya Prasad, general secretary of BPUT, said, “Those who tried to heckle Vice-chancellor Shyam Sundar Pattnaik today are politically-motivated. This VC is doing good work but these people do not want him there.” He alleged the VC was roughed up at the behest of a politician.
Earlier, tension prevailed at the alumni meet of BPUT when nearly 30 students stormed into the venue, showed black flags and hurled tomatoes at the vice-chancellor.
Pattnaik who was the chief guest of the meeting was, however, rescued by the security personnel the moment the rampaging students created a commotion at the hotel which was chosen the meeting venue. The students were apparently angry as the BPUT which was tasked with organising a special recruitment drive for technical graduates in 2014 failed to organise a job placement fair despite promises made by ministers and top government officials.
“The university authorities have taken Rs 100 each from nearly 48,000 unemployed youth. All these technically qualified youths have remained without jobs till this day. The university should react to this injustice. We demand conduct of the recruitment drive soon,” said an agitating student here.
Sati Shakti Sharma, an ex-student who was at the alumni meet, said their protests against VC during the meet was genuine and the angry students went a bit too far by holding the VC by his collar.
The students were also irritated about the abnormal delay on part of the BPUT authorities in dispatching the final degree certificates of the students who passed the Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) examination last year. The youth were also inconvenienced as the authorities have failed to set up a functional camp office of the university in Bhubaneswar city.
“The university has not provided us our final certificates of B.Tech since 2012. This is creating problems for us when we apply for jobs. Moreover, the university headquarters is at Rourkela and its camp office is at Gandamunda which is not functioning properly. It is difficult for us to go to Rourkela frequently,” they said.
