Omars win-win: 2 central univs,1 maybe in his seat

Having extracted two Central universities for his state instead of one,Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is set to gift Kashmir regions Central varsity....

Having extracted two Central universities for his state instead of one,Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is set to gift Kashmir regions Central varsity to his own constituency and the pocket borough of the Abdullah family Ganderbal. Highly placed sources have confirmed that Kashmirs Central university will,in all likelihood,be set up at Behama in Ganderbal,just about 10 km from the Dal Lake and 35 km from the Srinagar airport. The site has been found most favourable by the state government.

Said to be spread across 600 acres,the identified piece of land could be approached driving along the famous Nishad Gardens. So even as the varsity will not be inside Srinagar,owing to constraints of land availability,it will be virtually in the Valley. The state government is likely to make an announcement to this effect when a site is identified for the promised Central varsity at Jammu. A decision on a site for Jammus Central varsity either in Samba or Bhaderwah is to be taken soon.

The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry,however,said it had yet to get such information from the state government.

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While the original contenders for the Central varsity in the state were Budgam,Sopore (Hurriyat chief Syed Ali Shah Geelanis hometown) and Pulwama districts,it is Ganderbal which has emerged as the winner as over 600 acres of government-owned land is easily available here. That apart,militancy fears have worked against Sopore,besides the distance to the airport.

Incidentally,inhabitants of the J&K Chief Ministers constituency have been campaigning for the varsity citing its advantage with regard to location. Ganderbal is just off the Valley and a junction on the way to Kargil and Leh besides adjoining Bandipore,Kupwara and Baramulla districts. More so,Ganderbals people have been actively campaigning for the Central varsity because the Islamic University proposed to be set up here was shifted to Pulwama earlier.

While the Centre had announced a single Central university for J&K earlier this year,it took no time for the issue to turn into a political hot potato for the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference government in the state. Though the HRD Ministrys site selection committee found Jammu more suitable for the varsitys location and Srinagar was being considered for an IIM,regional politics has led to angry protests on both sides. The PDP has been demanding twin campuses for quite some time while targeting the Chief Minister for failing to get the deal through the Centre. Abdullah even met the HRD Minister over the issue requesting for a two-varsity formula to resolve the deadlock in the state. The ministry finally gave in last month when minister Kapil Sibal announced two Central universities one each for Jammu and Kashmir regions dropping the proposal for an IIM in the state.

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