‘Tourism village’ row: Set up IIT, IIM on agri varsity land, says BJP leader

Our Correspondent

Palampur, August 2
Vinay Sharma, BJP leader and a member of the Tea Board of India, today opposed the move of the state government to set up a ‘tourism village’ on the campus of Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University (HPAU), Palampur.
He said the government should reconsider its decision to allot 112 acres of university land for the project, and not disturb the academic atmosphere of the university.
Addressing a press conference, he said the state government should set up an engineering college, an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) or an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) here instead of establishing a ‘tourism village’.
The government should approach the Minister of Commerce for the establishment of a tea-based institute, he added, stating that such an institute could give a new lease of life to the dying Kangra tea industry, which was on the verge of collapse.
He said he was not opposed to a ‘tourism village’ being set up, but opposed the setting up of the project on varsity land.
He said he was concerned over the “silence” of local MLA Ashish Butail.
Butail had not uttered even a single word despite students, teachers and non-teaching employees of the university protesting for over a week, he added.
He called upon the MLA to clarify his stance on the matter.
He said most tea factories in Kangra district had shut down in the last decade due to cumulative losses. However, the state government was unconcerned with the situation, he added. These units were set up 30 years ago and had turned obsolete, he said, adding that with new techniques being used for the production of tea, these units needed to be modernised.
“The state government should submit a project before the Union Government for the modification and overhauling of these units. The Commerce Ministry could easily sanction funds for such a project,” Sharma said.