NIT director rapped for holding yagnam

WARANGAL: There was quite a ruckus at National Institute of Technology (NIT) on the occasion of Sri Panchami on Saturday after 'Chandi yagnam' was conducted on campus to criticism from rationalists who questioned the purpose behind holding the religious ritual on the contention that science and religion do not go together.
For his part, NIT director professor T Srinivasa Rao, who performed the yagam in his campus lodgings, said that the ritual was his personal affair and the institute had nothing to do with the yagam.But rationalists believe that the ritual was performed to purge the institute of any negative influences following suicides of students in the recent past and seizure of drugs on campus.
"We performed Chandi yagam at my residence. What's wrong with that? We offer prayers during Karthika and Sravana months and perform Satyanarayana vratam in our house. It is a purely domestic affair," Rao said. He said he did not use NIT money or funds and performed the yagam as a family ritual, rebutting charges that he had diverted funds from NIT to conduct the ritual.