Daijiworld Media Network - Puttur (SP)

Puttur, Oct 20: The government first-grade college for women here gets credit for being the women's college in Dakshina Kannada district with the second-highest number of students. As the court has stayed construction of the college building at Anemajalu, it appears that the college will get stuck at the old jail premises where it is currently functioning, at least for the present.

This college has over 800 students. A 4.7-acre land for the construction of a proper building for the school had been sanctioned by the government at Bannur Anemajalu here on Bolwar-Uppinangay road. The land record had been changed in the name of the commissioner in the department. A proposal for the construction of the college building at a cost of Rs eight crore was also submitted. Grant of Rs 4.3 crore was sanctioned.

Even after the land was transferred in the name of the commissioner in the department, the court has stayed further activity as a person claiming Kumki right on the land has approached it. The petitioner has complained that the deputy commissioner had not followed proper procedure in denying Kumki right on the land. Because of the stay order, the college is deprived of its own building. Poor girl students from far off places who have got admission in the college are compelled to attend lessons in the old jail building. For some time in the past, the classes had been shifted to the previous municipal building, but because of compelling reasons, the college was brought back to the old prison building.

The college was set up in July 2014. After being shifted to different vacant buildings, it settled down in the old prison and taluk office building, which is dilapidated. When the college started functioning in 2014-15 in Nellikatte primary school and after it was shifted to the prison building, there has been a steady increase in the number of students every year.

MLA Sanjeeva Matandoor, said that an individual has brought stay against the sanction of the site for the women's college, raising objection to the process by which the deputy commissioner sanctioned the site. He said that discussions are on about vacating the stay.