Bengal Engineering university teachers threatens hunger strike

Kolkata, Feb 19(UNI) The entire teaching community of Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur(BESUS) who have been agitating to press for declaring the university as an 'Institute of National Importance'(INI),have threatened to go on an indefinite Hunger strike' soon to intensify their protest further.

Blaming both the union and state governments for remaining 'silent' on the issue, BESUS Teachers Association Secretary Sujay Kumar Mukherjee here today said though the Anandkrisnan Committee's recommendations was submitted to the Ministry of Human Resources Development in February last year to declare BESUS as an autonomous institute and make necessary budgetory allocations for it within a timeframe, nothing had so far been done about it.

"With deep regret we have noticed that there was no affirmative reponse till date from any of the concerned authorities towards the recommendations of the Anandkrisnan Committee," Dr Mukherjee said and expressed concern at 'no further progress' in this regard before the finalisation of the budgetory allocation of the 11th Five year plan for the Institute.

"The teaching community of the prestigious institute can neither afford to let the honour be denied, nor silently watch the indefinite delay in BESUS' rightful transformation into INI", the BESUTA Secretary said.

He also made it clear that if the concerned authorities continued to delay the proposed upgradation of the Institute 'deliberately', the BESUTA members would not only intensify their ongoing agitation, through various means,but would also resort to an indefinite relay hunger strike soon to press for their demand with the support of the state's entire teaching community.

UNI