KOLKATA: Amid the mayhem at Visva-Bharati University over the erection of a boundary wall at its Pous Mela ground, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she doesn't want any construction to take place there, and asked the police to convene a meeting with the stakeholders in this regard.
Underscoring that Visva-Bharati is a central university, Banerjee also said that she had a word with the governor regarding Monday's violence on the Pous Mela ground and told him that the state government's role in the matter was "limited".
Trouble erupted at Visva-Bharati in West Bengal's Birbhum district on Monday as a large number of people ransacked the university's properties to protest the construction of a boundary wall at the Pous Mela ground.
Sources said that university authorities had decided to build a fence around the ground, where the 'Pous Mela' (winter fair) is held every year.
This year, however, the fair stands cancelled.
"The governor had called me. We had a discussion over the violence that took place on the ground. I told him that Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore founded it with a vision to celebrate different festivals. I also told him that I don't want any construction to take place on that ground," she said.
Talking about her government's measures to deal with the COVID-19 crisis, Banerjee further announced that September 1 will be observed as Police Day in the state every year to honour the sacrifices made by the police personnel while battling the pandemic.