Bengal govt stops Visva Bharati authorities from constructing wall along road

The Birbhum district administration in West Bengal on Friday (January 1) restricted the Visva-Bharati authorities from constructing a wall along a road which connects Santiniketan and Sriniketan.  

The Birbhum district administration in West Bengal on Friday (January 1) restricted the Visva-Bharati authorities from constructing a wall along a road that connects Santiniketan and Sriniketan.

District Magistrate Vijay Bharti said that if the wall is constructed, it might hinder people’s movement along the route.

After vising the Visva Bharati campus, Vijay Bharti said, “The authorities of the university should form a committee, comprising me or any district official, local residents as well as people who live on campus. All decisions should be taken through discussion. A road cannot be blocked this way as it is extremely difficult for elderly people to take a 5-km detour.”

The district police on Friday stopped construction workers from building a wall on the road.

The district superintendent of police, Shyam Singh, said the authorities did not take any permission from the administration before taking the decision to block the road. The administration did not know that a wall was going to be constructed along the road.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, during her recent visit to Bolpur, had said that the Public Works Department would take back the possession of the road from the Visva Bharati authorities.