Govt Assures Telugu University on Nampally Campus

Hyderabad:The government on Tuesday night assured Suravaram Pratap Reddy Telugu University that its Nampally campus would not be allotted to any private trust or agency, prompting the university’s protection committee to call off its 14-day agitation over the proposed Adya Kala Museum.

The assurance followed a meeting between vice chancellor Prof. Sriram Venkatesh, registrar Prof. K. Ramesh and government representatives at the Telangana Secretariat. The protection committee described the assurance as a victory for the movement and ended its relay hunger strike.

Students, faculty and alumni of Suravaram Pratap Reddy Telugu University had opposed the state’s proposal to allot the ground floor of the university’s Nampally campus for the proposed Adya Kala Museum, arguing that the move would disrupt academic, research and cultural activities that continue to function from the historic campus.

The protest came amid what the university community described as a misleading perception that the institution had completely shifted to its new Bachupally campus. While the university’s main campus began functioning from Bachupally in 2023, protesters maintained that the Nampally campus remains a fully functional academic centre serving hundreds of students every day.

Dr M.A. Srinivasan, member of the Nampally campus protection committee and professor of history, said the issue was not about opposing the proposed museum but about safeguarding the university’s academic space. “This is being projected as a choice between Telugu University and the Adya Kala Museum, which is completely false. We have no objection to the museum. Our only appeal is that it should be given a separate site. The Nampally campus continues to be central to the university’s teaching, research, publications and cultural activities, and losing part of it will directly affect students,” he told Deccan Chronicle.

According to the university, the Nampally campus houses the centre for distance education, diploma and certificate courses, Bachelor of Design and other specialised programmes, evening courses, publication and book sales divisions, extension activities, the ‘Telugus Through the Ages’ museum and audio-video recording facilities used for documenting Telugu literature, art and culture. Its auditorium also hosts literary meetings, seminars and cultural programmes throughout the year.

The university said the Bachupally campus is still being developed and lacks key infrastructure, including an auditorium, seminar halls and audio-video recording facilities, making it impractical to shift all activities there at present.

Anupama R, a student at the university, said claims that the Nampally campus had been vacated were inaccurate. “We attend classes here every day. Research work, seminars and academic activities continue throughout the year. If classrooms and common facilities are reduced, it is the students who will bear the consequences,” she said.

Alumnus Kavi Raju Burra, a marketing professional, said the Nampally campus represented decades of academic and cultural history. “Generations of students have studied here and contributed to Telugu language, literature and culture. Development of a new campus should strengthen the university, not come at the cost of a campus that still serves hundreds of students and remains part of its identity,” he said.

Throughout the agitation, the university community sought withdrawal of the proposed allotment, an alternative site for the Adya Kala Museum and retention of the Nampally campus until the Bachupally campus is fully equipped. The protection committee thanked students, faculty, researchers, non-teaching staff, alumni, student organisations, Telugu language supporters, civil society groups and the media for supporting the 14-day protest.