Thirteen years after the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute was set up in Kolkata at the initiative of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, it was forced to close down indefinitely on Tuesday following continued protests by cadres of the CITU, the CPI(M)’s trade union arm.Members of a CITU-backed security agency have been holding the institute to ransom following the authority’s decision to terminate their contract and engage a new agency from April 1. Official sources said the situation had gone out of control in the last one month.Following the recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee and CAG, the institute had decided to terminate the services of the Star Security and Detective Agency. A new agency called GD Agency, comprising ex-servicemen, was to take charge from today. But they were intimidated and threatened with dire consequences, said officials of the SRFTI. The institute, which was set up in 1995, has been tense for the last few weeks, as the CITU-backed staff of the sacked agency resorted to various tactics. The SRFTI’s director, faculty and other staff were severely inconvenienced as they were confined to their offices at times. Water supply, electricity supply and other services were tampered with. Classes were disturbed with sloganeering, and the campus was littered with posters.SRFTI director Swapan Mullick said they were forced to close down the institute in view of the tense and chaotic situation. There was a serious and genuine threat of breach of peace within the campus, he said. Late in the evening, a police contingent arrived at the campus. “If the police can restore normalcy, the institute will be re-opened as early as possible,” said Mullick. While the First Year students have begun their vacations, about 25-30 senior students are still working on various projects at the campus. The SRFTI is only the second institute of its kind in India, offering post-graduate diploma in cinema with specialisation in four branches — direction, screenplay writing, motion picture photography and sound recording and editing.
