Puri sadar residents oppose land for Vedant University

Puri, Sep 22(UNI) The residents of several villages of Puri sadar have demanded clarification from the state government on actual requirement of land for the Vedanta University.

While the state government had stated that the varsity would be located over 8000 acres of land, a report from Vedanta sources said it would require ten thousand Acres of land.

The Mukhias of several villages alleged that that take over of all paddy land by the Vedant University would lead to the loss of livelihood of most of the villagers in the area.

They apprehended that the villagers were unlikely to get the price of the land as the agricultural land belonging to numerous religious mutts and the Sri Jagannath temple were traditionally cultivated by the farmers.

They said in the event of the land acquisition, the temple would take all the sale value leaving the cultivators in dark. The temple has over two thousand Acres of land and another one thousand owned by the gajapati king Diby Singh Dev.

The state government and the Vedanta should clearly state the actual land required for the University, the Mukhias said adding that the state should maintain transparency over the varsity's all aspects and its likely impact on the local populace besides employment opportunity for the local people.

They also pointed out that the famous varsities like Harvard, Cambridge and Oxford were established on a few hundred acres of land and Orissa's premier Utkal university has only four hundred acres of land while the Sanskrit varsity had been set up over a hundred acres.

In a memorandum signed by hundreds farmers urged the Human Rights Commission, Orissa Governor Rameswar Thakur and the Orissa High Court Chief Justice to intervene into the matter.

The villagers, meanwhile, have formed Vedata Bisthapit Sangharsh Samittee to fight for the cause of the poor cultivators.

Senior farmer and leader of the area Benudhar Pradhan has been nominated as president.

UNI XC DP AKM AKP2321