Amidst all; future of 3000 students lies at stake
Abrar A. Mattoo
SRINAGAR : Following the demolition of structures and recovery of state land at Sir Syed Memorial (SSM) College of Engineering at Parihaspora Pattan, restless anxiety has started to brew in some 3,000 students of the college. The students fear that their studies and apparently, future as well, are being put into jeopardy due to the recurrent hostilities at the college campus.
According to students of the college, the events that unfolded on the morning of Tuesday, August 3, 2021, at their college campus, were all part of a long-pending land dispute/rivalry between the owner of the college and another former politician. The students say that the quarrels over the said land have also occurred in the past as well, so much so, that there was once an incident of aerial firing and tear gas shelling at the campus.
“Let’s suppose that it’s not an issue of rivalry or land dispute, but then, why was the college singled out? Why did the officials feel to carry the demolition in non-office hours at 4.30: P.M and why was the institution not served a notice beforehand? It’s all a matter of rivalry and impartiality. Our studies have been repeatedly interrupted because of this meaningless hostility, and we fear that if it lingers on, our future may be bleak,” commented Hilal Bashir, one of the five conveners of the student’s union at SSM college.
“Our studies have already suffered due to covid-19 and political instability in the past three years. Now this new dimension to hostility at the campus is another addition to our plight. I don’t see it as an attempt at good governance, it’s a personal rivalry of a politician with our Mam, and the authorities have only danced to his tunes. I fear that this conflict would carry on far in the future and would unnecessarily ruin our studies,” Sheikh Zeeshan, president of the student’s union at SSM college added.
However, ruling out any possibility of favor or impartiality, when Kashmir Despatch contacted Additional District Development Commissioner Baramulla, Mr. Mohammad Ahsan Mir, the officer said that the district administration has begun a campaign in district Baramulla, and wherever the encroachments are recorded, they would be duly removed.
“The Tehsildar has acted well within his limits and has put his powers to proper use,” Mr. Ahsan Added while defending the Tehsildar Singh-Pora, Mr. Sheikh Sallahudin over alleged impartiality.
However, when asked whether the office of the District Development Commissioner has issued any order into the demolition and recovery of the state land at SSM college, or whether the office was aware of such happening, the bureaucrat said that Tehsildar holds the magisterial powers, and “did not need to inform any higher authority, let alone seek permission, before carrying the demolition cum recovery process”.
Though the college authorities denied that they were served any notice before the demolition drive was carried out, in a statement issued to the press, the concerned officials wrote that a notice was duly served on 31-03-2021 to the institution to remove the construction on their own, failing which the demolition and recovery of land have taken place. However, It remains to be seen whether similar notices have been sent to other encroachers of state land in the district, especially to Gulmarag Hoteliers who in addition to having expired lease over thousands of Kanals, have also encroached nearly 200 Kanals of forest land at the famous tourist spot, and whether the same action would follow against them as well.
Nevertheless, the students fear that rather than solving the problem of recurrent conflicts at the college, the sudden step by the government has only deteriorated the situation.
“Rather than keeping this matter lingering, we demand that either the government should overtake the college, or solve this conflict in the earnest,” another student added.
However, when Kashmir Despatch spoke with Qazi Dilafroza, Chairperson SSM college of Engineering, she feigned ignorance over whether the demolition drive at her college was a result of some personal vendetta or land dispute with the allegedly involved politician.
“I am clueless that why has such a devastating action been taken against the college? The structures that the authorities demolished today also included recreational facilities for the students and the local community, even the Indian army has carried thousands of tournaments in there. We have not created terrorists at the college but we have given engineers to the society. We have worked towards nation-building. So I want an answer as to why such an action was carried against my institution,” Mrs. Dilafroza asked further.
It is pertinent to mention that Sir Syed Memorial college of Engineering at Parihaspora Pattan is one of the foremost colleges of Engineering and Technology in Jammu and Kashmir since 1998, and in a recent convocation of Kashmir University, the college secured 88 gold medals, out of which 77 were females and only one a male student.
