Visva Bharati violence: NGT directive misinterpreted by some stakeholders: Environmentalist

Kolkata, August 21

Environmental activist Subhas Dutta, whose petition to the National Green Tribunal led it to frame guidelines for holding the annual Poush Mela in Santiniketan, said on Friday that the directive of the green bench had been misinterpreted in the recent move by some stakeholders.

Refusing to name anyone in particular, Dutta said some “illegal and unfortunate developments” had taken place in recent times around the Poush Mela.

Dutta hinted that erection of boundary fencing was not the mandate of NGT.

“The directive of NGT with regard to holding the Poush Mela in a specific time frame and following certain environmental norms like solid waste management seems to have been misinterpreted … Some illegal activities took place in the wake of the misinterpretation of the NGT order and a political conflict has come to the fore. This is not expected,” he said.

“Visva Bharati which has Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its chancellor cannot shy away from taking necessary measures to make the fair environment-friendly in cooperation with the state government and stop holding the fair blaming non-cooperation from a section of traders. They should take necessary action, “ Dutta commented.

The NGT order had emphasised on the environmental aspect of the famed Poush Mela, started by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, and saving the fairground from ecological damage, Dutta had said after the violence at the Visva Bharati University campus over the erection of a wall around the Poush Mela ground on Monday.

The environmentalist had been part of NGT appointed three-member committee to oversee if all guidelines were being followed in holding the over 125-year-old fair.

His petition in 2017 had led to the NGT framing certain guidelines on holding the over 125-year-old Poush Mela in an environment-friendly manner.

The quiet university town was witness to violence on August 17 when a large number of locals assembled at the mela ground after fencing work began at the behest of Vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty and other varsity officials. The mob vandalized construction equipment and tore down one of university gates next to the ground.

Visva Bharati has demanded a CBI inquiry into the violence and blamed a Trinamool Congress MLA and some local ruling party leaders for the violence which was preceded on Sunday by a rally of the VC and some other varsity officials to the fairground to prevent attempts by local traders to stop fencing work.

The central university has said it will remain closed until those involved in the vandalism are punished.

On October 29, 2019, a two-member NGT Bench of Justice S P Wangdi and Prof (Dr) P C Mishra had asked Visva-Bharati to cooperate with Birbhum district administration for safety, security and protection of environment during the four-day fair.

The bench, which had enclosed its 2017 order along similar lines with certain guidelines for holding of the fair, had said that food stalls should be set up in an enclosed area with adequate measures for controlling dust and waste removal, besides facilities for clean drinking water and toilets.

The bench had also directed the varsity to ensure proper management of solid waste and to stop fossil fuel burning during the fair in cooperation with the state government.

The fair commenced in 1894 by Rabindranath Tagore’s father, Maharshi Debendranath, and Visva Bharati started organising the Poush Mela in 1951. PTI