By Avijit BiswasÂ
Bhagalpur: A sum of more than Rs 87.99 crore was sanctioned today by the Bihar government for the acquisition of land needed for the establishment of Vikramshila Central University in the Kahalgaon subdivision of this district. With the sanctioning of the amount, the land acquisition process for the establishment of Vikramshila Central University is likely to gain momentum.
In 2015, the central government announced the establishment of Vikramshila Central University near Antichak village in Kahalgaon, where the ruins of the ancient Vikramshila University are located. However, the establishment plan for the proposed central university could not make headway due to the absence of land acquisition for the purpose.
Initially, it was decided that a total of 500 acres of land would be acquired for the purpose. Considering the difficulty in obtaining 500 acres of land at one place for the establishment of the proposed university, the state government and central government mutually agreed to subsequently acquire 200 acres of land for the proposed university.
Following the revision of the land requirement, efforts were stepped up by the local administration to identify land that could be acquired for the planned university.
As per information, the required land for the university has been identified in the Antichak and Malakpur moujas of Kahalgaon circle by the local administration. To ensure that the process of land acquisition for the proposed university could be initiated without delay upon receipt of the allocated funds, the details of the identified land have been procured, and other pre-acquisition formalities have also been completed to some extent by the local administration.
District Magistrate (DM) Nawal Kishore Choudhury, who has been keenly involved in the identification of land for the university, was quoted saying there would not be any delay in beginning the process of land acquisition upon receipt of the allocated funds.
The establishment of Vikramshila Central University close to the ruins of the ancient seat of learning, it may be mentioned, is a long-pending demand of the people of this region. The fund allocation by the state government for land acquisition has been welcomed by various local organizations.
Pawan Kumar Choudhury, a senior journalist and a keen supporter of the people’s demand concerning the establishment of the central university, said the allocation of funds for land acquisition is a step forward towards the realization of the long-pending demand of the people.
Meanwhile, the Vikramshila Kendriya Vishwavidalay Nirman Samiti, Kahalgaon, in a meeting held today at Ganguli Park, Kahalgaon, thanked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the allocation of funds for the acquisition of land needed for the central university.
The participants at the meeting also thanked the DM for the initiatives being taken by him for the establishment of the university. The meeting decided to invite the Chief Minister and the Governor of the state to visit the excavation site of the ancient Vikramshila University in the near future.
The author is a Bhagalpur based journalist.
