The prime minister would perform the 'bhumi puja' for the construction of university buildings after the Lok Sabha elections, he said.
Union Minister Kishan Reddy. (X)
Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Thursday, 22 February, said the Centre and the Telangana government have decided to start admissions to the Central tribal university to be set up in Mulugu district from this year.
The Sammakka Sarakka Central tribal university is being set up with about ₹900 crore, said Reddy, Union Tourism and Culture Minister.
A temporary university campus would be set up and the university’s academic year would start this year, he said. “PM (Narendra Modi) has directed that admissions be started from this year,” he said.
Reddy was speaking to reporters after offering worship at the ongoing “Sammakka-Sarakka jathara”, a mega tribal festival at Medaram in Mulugu district.
PM Modi, who greeted people on Wednesday, 21 February, in view of the four-day “jathara” starting, asked about the status of admissions into the university, he said.
Kishan Reddy said he spoke to the state chief secretary and a decision was taken to establish a temporary building.
Some land has been allotted to the university (for a permanent campus) and more land is needed, he said.
The majority of the seats would be reserved for local tribal youth in admissions, he said.
“We should build the university in a way that it achieves international recognition,” he said.
The prime minister would perform the “bhumi puja” for the construction of university buildings after the Lok Sabha elections, he said.
The University of Hyderabad, a Central university, would act as the mentor for the tribal university, Reddy said.
The university is named after Goddesses Sammakka Sarakka, the presiding deities of the “Medaram jathara”.
Parliament in December last year passed a bill to establish the Sammakka Sarakka Central Tribal University in Telangana after a nod from the Rajya Sabha.
The tribal university is being set up as per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.
Referring to the demand of some that the “Medaram jathara” be recognised as a national festival, Kishan Reddy said there is no such system anywhere in the country.
He also said ₹3.14 crore has been provided this year to the state government for the conduct of the “jathara” on behalf of the Union Tourism and Tribal Welfare Ministries.
The Centre had provided ₹19 crore earlier for developing infrastructure facilities at Medaram.
The four-day mega tribal festival, Sammakka Saralamma Maha Jathara, also known as Medaram Jathara, began on Wednesday in Mulugu district of Telangana.
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