PWD road-widening projects sparks discontent in Tezpur University

Tezpur, Dec 14: The Tezpur University (TU) authority has expressed annoyance over the aggressive attitude of PWD officials in executing a road-widening project near the university premises, which is expected to affect the boundary wall of the campus.

Expressing strong resentment over the issue, a delegation from Tezpur University submitted a representation to the district commissioner of Sonitpur, Ankur Bharali, on December 11. The delegation comprised Prof Kusum K Bania, president of Tezpur University Teachers' Association (TUTA); Dr Pallavi Jha, vice president of TUTA; Jadav Ch Nath, president of Tezpur University Non-Teaching Employees' Association (TUNTEA); Dr Ratan Boruah, secretary of TUNTEA; and Pragyandeep Borah, general secretary of Tezpur University Students' Council.

The delegation expressed grave concern over widening of the PWD road in front of Tezpur University - which connects Poruwa Chariali with National Highway-15 - due to the possible impact on the boundary wall.

Talking to this correspondent, the vice chancellor of TU, Prof Shambhu Nath Singh, emphasised that the alignment of the widened road, as depicted in the Detailed Project Report, poses a serious threat to the university. He also highlighted the unjustified extension of the road towards the university's boundary, which could jeopardise the safety and infrastructure of the institution.

"We have already intimated our concern by bringing this to the notice of the Chief Minister of Assam vide letter no. D.O. TU/VC(I)/2024 dated 27.09.2024," Prof Singh said. He added that the matter was also brought to the notice of the additional chief engineer of PWD (Roads), Tezpur Zone, vide letter no.F.13-101/04 (EC)/ 4060 dated 27.11.2024, citing possible risks such as threat against safe mobility of the university community as the space between the gate and new road is intended to be reduced to an alarming extent. The widened road will also create a disturbance for sensitive laboratory equipment, as well as the animal house, which are housed near the boundary wall. Moreover, the road-widening project may cause a structural risk to the boundary wall of the university, Prof Singh said.

Meanwhile, the university community has alleged that the road expansion is not happening towards the other side, where sufficient land is available, due to vested interests. The TU community feels that if the road widening is done towards the university side, the historic main gate of TU, which was designed based on a sketch by Rupkonwar Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, will have to be closed down permanently.

There is a lot of anguish among the university com- munity regarding the unscientific widening of the road. This may boil over into an agitation if timely action is not taken in the right spirit.