Meritorious students made to wait 8 hrs at Raj Bhawan

BHOPAL: Meritorious engineering students selected for Chancellor's Award and their parents had to toil in the hot and sultry weather for almost eight hours before they were allowed in at Raj Bhawan on Monday. Rajiv Gandhi Technical University (RGTU) every year presents Chancellor's Award to meritorious students and the awards are given by the governor.
This year around 284 students were selected for the award. Out of this, 276 students including over 100 girls attended the function. Situation turned tense at the entry gate of Raj Bhawan when students reached the venue around 8 am.
"We were asked by the university to reach Raj Bhawan by 8 am. However, when I reached the gates along with my daughter, authorities told us the function has been delayed and will start at 1 pm. Again they changed the timings at 1 pm and informed it will start at 4 pm," said Aditya Verma, father of a student.
Parents of meritorious students waiting since early morning expressed their anger and called RGTU officials to clear the confusion. There were heated arguments between parents and security officials, when the latter refused entry to students. Later, entry passes were given to the students around 1 pm and programme started at 4 pm.
When contacted, deputy registrar of RGTU, Sanjeev Sharma said, "Timings for Chancellor's Award ceremony was changed two days ago by Raj Bhawan. We had informed each student about the change in schedule. I do not understand why students reached there as per original schedule."
He claimed a team of 10 people was formed to inform students about change in schedule. "We had even informed respective colleges about it," Sharma said.