Kathmandu, January 5:

Tribhuvan University (TU) today clarified that it would be closed until Kirtipur locals stopped their violent activities and a safe and peaceful environment prevailed.

Speaking at a press conference today, Prof Dr Madhav Prasad Sharma, vice-chancellor, TU, said that the teachers and students were threatened by the locals many times.

“To protect the students and teachers, we did not have any other option but to close the university for an indefinite period halting regular works,” he added.

“We highly appreciate the contribution of the locals,” he said, adding, “We would like to strengthen intimacy between the public and the university rather than confrontation.”

He said that the physical infrastructure, furniture and the documents of the university should all be preserved for they were the property of students.

He further said, “We cannot fulfill all the demands of the locals at once and we cannot go beyond our limitations,” adding, “We won’t open the university until the locals create an environment where we feel safe to execute our regular activities.”

Bhim Raj Adhikari, registrar, TU, said, “The locals were asking for health facilities, scholarship, employment, physical facilities and compensation for the land acquired by the university decades back. It cannot be fulfilled by the university alone. We asked them to give us time to discuss the matter with other concerned sectors but they denied and started acting violently.”

Rajendra Poudel, coordinator of the seven-member talks team, said that they had no other way than shutting down the university when the security personnel also expressed their inability to control the Kirtipur mob.

While, TU Victims’ Struggle Committee today organised a three-hour chakka jam at Balkhu

Ring Road intersection from 8 to 11 am.

The meeting held between the struggle committee and the university had ended inconclusively

on January 1.

Birendra Shakya, member of the struggle committee, said that the statements given by the university officials were exaggerated and attempted to ruin their image.

“The officers present at the press conference themselves accepted their inability to smoothly run the administration and hold talks. The case should be handled by the chancellor himself,” he said.

“The consensus between two ruling parties—CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist — alone would not be acceptable,” he added.