TIRUCHY: Demands have risen for the permanent campus for the Government Arts and Science College, which has been functioning from a government school building at Pannappatti panchayat in Manapparai taluk for a year since it was started, to be shifted somewhere in Manapparai town instead of the proposed site in the same panchayat.
The move to a permanent campus within the town would benefit students from other places as well, say, activists. The Manapparai Arts and Science College offers five undergraduate courses presently, and with fresh enrolments to start in May, a new place for a permanent structure has been identified in the same panchayat. ''The place identified for the permanent campus is 10km away from Manapparai town and lacks regular bus services. If students are to come from Vaiampatty or the interior parts of Manapparai taluk, they have to take two buses. If the campus is set within the town, students can commute easily even from far away places.'' said T Indrajith, a senior member of the CPI. '
'We have notified the district administration about available spaces in Manapparai town. However, they are reluctant to do so."
V Chidambaram of the Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam for Tiruchy said, ''The Arts and Science college in Manapparai is a result of a 50-year demand by the local people. However, the proposed area for the construction has no long-term vision. Applications for art college come from various parts of the state, and there is no rationale in placing it far away from the town.''
Sources from the Tiruchy district administration said, "We first identified a place in Ponnappatti panchayat for the new college campus, then we were notified that the selected place comes under the forest department, following which we have selected another place in the same panchayat. We have received suggestions for moving the college to the town, we will decide upon it after reviewing it with all concerned parties."