Hyderabad: Postponement of a national event at the last minute is not a good sign, said Dr Babu Rao, a scientist who retired from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology. He said the TRS had fought for statehood on the slogan Neelu (water), Nidhulu (funds) and Niyamakalu (jobs) but not much has happened so far on that front, leaving the students disappointed, disheartened and jobless.
Dr Rao said, “For everything small thing the police enters the university. That is what bothering the students. Nobody turned up to see the body of Eramaina Murali who committed suicide on December 3, neither faculty members not the hostel warden. This is quite shocking.” He said, “Staff and faculty members should be more active in solving students’ problem instead of calling the police. There is not much interaction between the faculty and the students which is the main reason behind this unrest.”Dr Rao said students were not against the Indian Science Congress, they were just using the platform to highlight their issues.
CCMB senior scientist K. Thangaraju, who was scheduled to deliver a talk on medical sciences at Congress, said, “It was shocking when we received the message of postponement. We really don’t know why the event got postponed. It is not good considering that it it happens at the same time. The postponement should have been avoided as it’s a prestigious event.”
Dr V. Srihari, retired scientist from Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, told this newspaper, “The ISC should be conducted in a peaceful atmosphere. I am not aware of the conditions in Osmania University but we heard that students are angry with the government and the university, which shows that there could have been some law and order problems. The organisers should think of changing the venue instead of postponing the event”.
