After students’ protest in Amritsar, plan to build helipad on playground shelved

After a protest by students and faculty at Government Medical College here recently, the local administration has decided not to use the college playground for setting up a helipad for the helicopter of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during his visit to the city next time.

The administration has also announced that the temporary helipad being set up at the place would be removed by Wednesday. The students and faculty at the college stated that the college was being frequently used by the government to land the Chief Minister’s helicopter.

Archit Bawa, president of the Government Medical College Students’ Association, said, “The college has only one playground. Owing to its use for landing of a helicopter, the sports infrastructure gets damaged every time.” He said the VIP protocol also forced restrictions on the movement of students and faculty.

The students stated that hostels of female and male students are located on the periphery of the playground. “Students have to go to their classes and other places of duty even at night. The restrictions on movement are imposed two days prior to the visit of the VIP and remain in force for some time even after the VIP has left,” said a faculty member.

Though the college ground had been used for the landing of a helipad earlier too, but this time, the move to install permanent structures on the ground had forced the students to raise their voice. “We are being told that a permanent helipad would be set up here. It means that there would be no playground anymore,” said another student.

The students alleged that the sprinkler system installed on the ground was often damaged due to the movement of security vehicles on the ground. They complained that the students are not allowed to use their two-wheelers whenever security forces are in the college due to the visit of a VIP.

Officials of the administration stated that no permanent helipad is being set up at the place. They stated that the structures on the ground, formed mainly of bricks, would be removed soon.