Drive To Evict Illegal Staff Quarters Occupants Begins At Utkal University In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: After evicting on-students residing illegally in the boys’ hostels on the campus, the Utkal University on Thursday began a drive to free its staff quarters on Vani Vihar campus in Bhubaneswar of encroachment.

According to sources, four platoons of police have been deployed on campus to prevent any untoward incidents during the drive.

While several illegal occupants vacated the premises by Wednesday evening after being served a notice the previous day, some left the campus by locking up the quarters. Police have started breaking the locks and clearing those quarters of their belongings. “The illegal occupants were identified following a survey,” Vice-Chancellor Jagneshwar Dandapat told the media.

The university has close to 200 staff quarters for both teaching and non-teaching staff. While almost 40 of these quarters are in complete ruins and would be taken up for renovation, 12 to 14 were illegally occupied by outsiders. These quarters were reportedly left unused after retirement of faculty members or non-teaching staff, according to varsity sources.

Incidentally, more than half of the teaching and non-teaching posts in the university have been lying vacant for more than five years.

On Tuesday, students had stormed the vice-chancellor’s office, demanding eviction of outsiders from the staff quarters and slum dwellers, unlawfully living near the campus. This came a day after university officials, with the help of police, evicted outsiders and former students from the institute’s boys hostels to restore order and discipline on the campus.

Registrar Swati Mishra said talks are on with the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on eviction of slum dwellers residing near the campus. Notices have already been issued to them.

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