VISAKHAPATNAM: Tension prevailed at GITAM University as Revenue officials along with the police descended on the university campus for fencing the encroached land in the early hours of Friday. According to sources, the fencing was erected after marking boundaries for encroached land. Meanwhile, police barricaded all the roads leading to GITAM University early in the morning. A large number of policemen were deployed to ensure law and order at the university.
Revenue official S Bhaskara Reddy said that 4.47 acres of land in survey numbers of 20, 16, 19 and 15 of Yendada were taken into possession and were fenced to protect the encroached land. He said the previous government had alienated 71.15 acres of land as per government market rate of Rs 18,000 per acre at Gitam University. On January 6, a survey was held and 19.39 acres of government land was taken into possession in the university. So far, 24.13 acres of government land has been taken into possession.
There is a court case with regard to 14.47 acres, where there are some constructions and action will be taken as per the court order, he said. Meanwhile, TDP leaders decried the deployment of a large number of police at Gitam University at midnight. They ridiculed the police for taking possession of four acres of land.
Former TDP minister Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy said there was a stay ordered by the court in 2020, with regard to Gitam lands. He criticised the police for their action, as the students were appearing for examination.
He said that the move was only to divert public attention from rooster knife attack case. “How the police can go to university in midnight when the case is pending in court,” questioned Bandaru. Bheemili TDP in-charge Korada Rajababu said that the government wanted to divert attention of people from its failure in steel plant and other issues. “The government was unable to digest the adverse report filed by the joint inspection committee on Rushikonda,” the TDP leader alleged.