Alumni demand action as slum dwellers continue to encroach on Utkal university campus

Bhubaneswar: During the drive on Monday to remove out non-students from hostel rooms in Utkal University, some alumni asked the authorities about the status of evicting slum-dwellers from the campus.“A slum has come up on the campus illegally. Many vice-chancellors tried to evict the slum, but they could not succeed. Encroachment on the university campus remains an unresolved issue,” said Debesh Dash, an alumnus.Around 30 acres out of 398.9 acres of university land has been allegedly encroached by slum dwellers. The area, if reclaimed, will help the institute in future expansion. “The area behind the boys’ hostels I and II has a slum. A few families were staying there some years ago, but now the size is becoming bigger. They have constructed cow sheds, backyard poultry and kitchen gardens on the encroached land,” said Dash.Biswajit Patra, another alumnus, said they have been demanding eviction of the slum dwellers for a long time. “We staged a hunger strike from April 24 to 31, demanding the removal of non-students from the hostels and evicting slum dwellers. One demand has been fulfilled, but another is due,” he added.Patra said slum dwellers from Patharbandha have created a passage by damaging the boundary wall. “They mostly use the road passing through the campus. Sometimes non-students create a ruckus on the campus and use the route to flee,” he added.Slum dwellers are rearing pigs and sending them on the campus to roam. “I don’t know why a slum has come up on the campus. We want our campus to have closed boundaries with properly guarded gates and be free from encroachment,” said another student.Vice-chancellor Jagneshwar Dandapat said they have discussed the issue of evicting slum dwellers with the state govt. “We are hopeful that the govt will take a positive step on the issue,” he added.