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| JU convocation runs into rough weather, auditorium not ready for mega event | | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
Jammu, Aug 7: 14th Annual Convocation of Jammu University has run into rough weather with authorities struggling to get General Zorawar Singh Auditorium ready for hosting this high profile event on September 1.
The event is being held after a gap of eight years. The last convocation was held on May 13, 2007 at General Zorawar Singh Auditorium Complex, JU where Dr. Karan Singh was the chief guest on that occasion while then Governor Lt General (Retd.) S.K. Sinha and then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad were also present.
This time President Pranab Mukherjee would be conferring degrees to the candidates who have qualified for award of Doctor of Philosophy in the year 2013 besides handing over certificates of merit, prizes and medals for all the examinations held for the academic session 2012-13, at the convocation.
But the auditorium is unlikely to be ready on time for the smooth conduct of the convocation. According to insiders, sound system of the auditorium requires immediate repairs and the same is being delayed since the last many years. They added that the costly sound system does not work when the Jammers are placed inside the complex. Besides, wire of the sound system in entire complex needs to be replaced.
They said that if the wiring is not done, sound system would not work properly. An official said that it would take a paltry sum of around Rs. 2 to 3 lakh to repair the sound system so that it does not fail on the day when President of the country Pranab Mukherjee would be addressing the students in the presence of scholars, intellectuals, VIPs, VVIPs and above all Governor N.N. Vohra alongwith Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, both of whom are aware of problems of the auditorium.
University officials said that those manning the auditorium have repeatedly pleaded with authorities to ensure that they have requisite funds available for keeping the multicrore auditorium ready for the convocation. They further said that cooperation from Executive Engineer (XEN) and other employees who have role in repair and maintenance has not been forthcoming.
If the university does not take the convocation seriously, sources said that there are all possibilities of State Government as well as JU administration facing a major embarrassment at the time of the event. They maintained that tenders have been floated for general repairs/ improvement of sound system/repair to granite tile cladding, repair to marble flooring/repair and painting kerb stones at a time when the convocation is just few weeks away.
Sources further said that there are forces in the university and outside making all possible efforts to see that the convocation is not a success. They want to see ouster of the present Vice-Chancellor and they believe, failure of the annual convocation would be last nail in the coffin. It is these forces because of whom things are moving at snail's pace and in all likelihood, auditorium is unlikely to get decked up on time for hosting one of the major events for any university of the country.
Besides this, another issue has cropped up with meritorious students questioning the decision of university to confer the degrees on the candidates who have qualified for the award of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the year 2013 besides awarding certificates of merit, prizes and medals for all the examinations held for the academics session 2012-13 at the convocation.
On July 13, the university, however, had issued a provisional list of merit holders of various graduation and post-graduation (both professional and non-professional) courses for the years 2006 to 2013 and had shortlisted 474 merit holders for university gold medal apart from 300 merit holders for prizes and medals from the endowments or trusts. However, the university later decided to keep the event specific for session 2012-13 and year 2013 PhD holders. This has taken the students by surprise who have decided not only to agitate but submit memorandum to President before the convocation is held on September 1, 2014. |
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