Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Bangalore:Speculation that the new campus of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) at Chitradurga would be “shifted” to Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, even forcing Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa to deny the suggestion, stems from a “misunderstanding,” sources at IISc. told The Hindu. Work on the 1,000-acre IISc campus at Chitradurga campus was going on in “full swing”, and the Anantapur campus would only be the “third” for the institute, the official said.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa denied suggestions of a shift in location when asked about the possibility. “Such reports are far from the truth. The IISc campus will come up at Chitradurga. We have made all the preparations for setting up the centre there,” he told presspersons after participating in the investiture ceremony of the State police department at Raj Bhavan here.

Recent media reports had stated that Union Minister for Human Resources Development Kapil Sibal had written to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah suggesting that the Union Government was examining a proposal of setting up “a second campus” in Andhra Pradesh.

IISc. faculty had visited Anantapur to identify the site for another campus, a possibility that both the Union and Andhra Pradesh Governments had been pursuing since 2007, said the source.Meanwhile, progress has been made at the Chitradurga campus where work has begun on a guest house and a peripheral road. “One of the first few facilities that will come up is a high-end training facility for faculty,” the source said, adding that “a few national facilities” and “a huge initiative on energy” are also on the anvil here.

When his attention was drawn to allegations that various areas in Bangalore city were reeling under drinking water shortage, mr. Yeddyurappa termed them as “rumours.” “We are trying our best to ensure proper drinking water supply to Bangalore city,” he said.