IIIT Basara likely to get V-C soon

Hyderabad / Basara: Will Telangana's Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technology, widely known as IIIT Basara, get a new Vice Chancellor? Speculations are rife that the government may announce a new VC on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy, who left Hyderabad for Basara to talk to the students, was stuck in heavy rain and could not meet the students till late on Monday evening. The speculations gained ground as hundreds of students are unrelenting to call of the strike till Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao or Minister for IT and MAUD K T Rama Rao visits them and gives an assurance to address their problems immediately. Hot sun and rain at night do not seem to deter them from continuing with the dharna -- When it is hot, they are using card boards or books as fans and when it rains, they are sitting under umbrellas.

The talks held by the District Collector and Minister Indra Karan Reddy on Sunday did not yield any result. The students say that they will call off the strike if the CM or KTR visits them and promise them that basic amenities like quality food, clean drinking water, proper doors for washrooms and hostel rooms, uniforms, bedsheets, etc and also appointment of a new VC would be provided on priority basis.

Students have expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of food offered at the messes. In many instances, they claimed to have spotted little insects and frogs in the meals.

Engineering and pre-engineering students said they had taken to the road due to the university's dreadful status in every domain, from lectures to meals to other areas such as unclean housing and poor sports facilities. "We are being intimidated for that," they said.

Meanwhile, District Collector Musharraf Ali met the students and said the government was ready to address their demands and also explained to the students that the university had already repaired damaged electrical, water and drainage pipeline works. Also assured students that the Vice-Chancellor would be appointed as per the demands. But the students said that they would stop the protest if they were assured in writing by the officials that their problems would be resolved.