2 weeks Ago By Ardhra Nair
Pune: Two members nearly came to blows on Saturday during the annual senate meeting of Savitribai Phule Pune University for the first time in its 75-year history, prompting police and the varsity's security to intervene. The meeting was turbulent from the start. Traditionally, the vice-chancellor (VC) delivers the university report at the outset, but on Wednesday, senate members objected, demanding that adjournment motions be addressed first.
After an intense back-and-forth, it was allowed, pushing VC Suresh Gosavi's speech to the post-lunch session. The dramatic confrontation erupted around 3pm, before lunch, when senate members accused the management council of irregularities in the Jeevan Sadhana Gaurav Award selection and execution, presented during the university's Foundation Day on February 10. The altercation between Sagar Vaidya, a management council member, and Ashok Sawant, a senate member, escalated quickly.
Fellow members initially attempted to separate them. But as tempers flared, security personnel had to step in to prevent the situation from spiralling out of control, leading to the senate being adjourned for an hour. The dispute that led to the adjournment stemmed from concerns raised by senate member Vinayak Ambekar, who accused the management council of bypassing the due process in selecting recipients for the Jeevan Sadhana Gaurav Puraskar.
"Worse, some awardees lacked the credentials to justify the honour and the event was mismanaged. This was the university's 75th anniversary — giving awards in this manner damages our reputation," Ambekar said. Management council member Bhagyashree Manthalkar countered the claims, stating that even they were informed about the awardees only a day prior, making it unfair to accuse all management council members of misconduct.
Sawant alleged malpractices by certain management council members while Vaidya was responding to allegations. Vaidya alleged this was a veiled attack on him and started approaching Sawant. The VC then adjourned the senate.
In the meantime, the university's workers' union staged a protest, objecting to allegations made by senate member Sachin Gorde Patil regarding their involvement in the Jeevan Sadhana Gaurav Award process. Tensions eased when the involved members issued apologies, allowing VC Gosavi to finally present his report. Same members in all committees Senate members alleged that the same individuals, often close to the management council, were repeatedly appointed to university committees.
Sawant went a step further, alleging that some committee members failed to visit institutes they were assigned to inspect but still accepted money for their reports. Members demanded a restructuring, insisting that all senate members should be included in different committees to ensure fair representation. 100 CCTV cameras defunct The issue of campus security also took centre stage.
Senate member Balasaheb Sagade said 100 CCTV cameras were non-functional for two years. Registrar Jyoti Bhakare assured that all cameras would be operational by March 31. Gosavi said the university had over 1,236 cameras and efforts were on to centralise the surveillance feed.
Lack of action-taken-reports The lack of an action-taken report on previous inquiries was another concern. Senate member Jayant Kakade, who repeatedly flagged this issue, said the university frequently formed committees to investigate matters but failed to provide senate members with updates on any subsequent action taken. Senate members also criticised the administration for evasive and incomplete responses to their questions.
"The university is deliberately withholding information from us," said senate member Sachin Gorde Patil. Krishna Bhandalkar, another member of the senate, said he was yet to receive a response to a question he raised in 2023. No issues related to students Senate member Dadabhau Shinalkar rued that the senate had been reduced to just a place of allegations and counter-allegations with no issues about students actually taken up or passed.
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