The road passing through Santiniketan is once again in the spotlight as Visva-Bharati wants to regain control while detractors of the Vice-Chancellor say he is trying to cut public access to the institution created by Rabindranath Tagore .
The 3-km road that passes through Visva-Bharati, a Central university, belongs to the West Bengal Government, which gave control to the institution in 2017. In 2021 the State took back control after locals complained that they were being denied access.
Access control critical
Last month, Santiniketan, the settlement that houses the campus, was placed in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Ever since, the university administration has been asking the State Government to give back the road so it could protect heritage buildings.
Last Saturday, Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty wrote to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee — the second such communication from the university — asking for permission to monitor traffic movement on the road. In the letter, he bitterly criticised his detractors for being opposed to the idea.
“I understand from media reports that those privileging their partisan interests over Visva-Bharati have formally communicated to you opposing return of the road that passes through the Ashram (Santiniketan) since it will adversely affect them… We are insisting on our request in order to save Visva-Bharati’s heritage buildings which are certain to be damaged by the vibration which plying of heavy vehicles causes. Their arguments are based on the factors other than their concern for this great site of Santiniketan which is now a World Heritage Site,” Prof. Chakrabarty wrote.
He said Visva-Bharati’s kindergarten school, Ananda Pathshala, was located next to this road and any irresponsible driving could pose a danger to children, and that the Archaeological Survey of India had warned against plying of vehicles, because they caused pollution and noise and were responsible for the gradual dilapidation of heritage buildings.
Two-wheelers can ply
He said that Visva-Bharati never stopped the plying of two-wheelers and those who would like to visit the place on foot, and that it “nurtured no design” to pose difficulties to any of those residing in the vicinity of the Ashram. He added that if Visva-Bharati failed to protect the heritage property, the UNESCO tag could be withdrawn, which would be a “big slap not only to Bengal but also those who worked hard day-and-night to get the global recognition.”
The Visva-Bharati University Faculty Association (VBUFA), a critic of the V-C, condemned his letter to the Chief Minister. “Firstly, it’s crucial to note that nearly all UNESCO heritage sites in India have their surrounding roads managed by respective State Governments. Secondly, the entire Ashram complex, which received UNESCO recognition, is no longer under Visva-Bharati but it falls under the Santiniketan Trust. Because the current V-C declined membership in the Trust established by Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, he lacks the legal standing to address such a letter to the CM,” said Sudipta Bhattacharyya, president of VBUFA.
