Cease work at farm university over sacking of registrar

 

COOCH BEHAR, Dec. 5: Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya Officers' Association observed cease work at the university today. They claimed that large number of employees, students and a section of teachers of the university too expressed support to their stir.

 

The officers observed the cease work to stage protest against the 'illegal removal' of the registrar. Noteworthy, by an order issued yesterday the UBKV vice-chancellor Prof Mrinal Kanti Majumder informed the registrar Dr Parimal Chandra Sarkar that his 'services are no longer required'. This order angered the officers and others of the university. They alleged that it was done to cover up the practice of corruption in the university. The vice-chancellor however was not available at his office or residence to make any comment over the allegations. But a few UBKV teachers said that Dr Sarkar joined here in June on lien from Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV) and he was relieved from his duty according to the terms of appointment.

 

The registrar, Dr Sarkar said that the VC had told him that as he has a one-year MSc degree he is not fit for the post of registrar. He said, "I obtained the one-year MSc degree in Statistics from Dhaka University and got my PhD from Bombay University. With this qualification I served in different renowned organisations in India including Reserve Bank of India for 31 years. I also worked under four vice-chancellors but no one ever questioned my poor qualification. In BCKV I was the secretary of the faculty council. Here, I was victimised because the racket engaged in huge corruption failed to make me a silent stooge of them."

 

It was learnt that recently an allegation rose over admitting of the son of a dean of the university. University admission norms were reportedly violated during admission of the student. When the unrest increased the vice-chancellor constituted a five-member inquiry committee with the registrar as its chairman. The committee was asked to submit its report by 30 November. "Yesterday I told the VC that I will submit the final report within a few days because some other members submitted their observations to me on 30 November. The VC asked me to submit all relevant papers without writing any report. As I already wrote about forty pages I denied submitting the papers without any report and it infuriated him and he issued the letter sacking me", Dr Sarkar said. It is nothing but a bid to hush up the irregularity done during the admission under question, he opined.

 

Dr Sarkar alleged that there is a racket of corruption active in this university. They are misappropriating crores of Rupees in the name of construction work without calling any tender for the jobs. Large-scale corruption is there in finance and administrative sections. A dispute grew over these corrupt practices between the VC and him for the last four months, the registrar said. Referring the inquiry over irregularity in admission of a student he said he did such inquiries for 13 times in several organisations including Reserve Bank of India.

 

In the VC's order Dr Sarkar was asked to 'handover the charge of the office of the Registrar along with all official papers, files, documents as are lying with him to Prof Arun Kumar Saha, Head, department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry and Dean, faculty of Technology immediately' but Dr Sarkar attended his office today, as usual. He declared, "I can go back to BCKV but it will not help stop corruption. Earlier, three others were removed similarly from here but I will not give up my efforts in busting the racket of corruption in this university." []