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Pune: NIBM claims life threat to staff, students from sandalwood thieves
As per NIBM Chief Administrative Officer Soni Philip, the institute guards have previously sustained injuries while preventing theft attempts
A day after the Hindustan Times reported that the National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM) is going ahead and has floated a tender to cut down 60 sandalwood trees to ward off future thefts, authorities at India’s top financial education institution on Monday said considering the threat of sandalwood smugglers, they do not want to endanger lives of staff and students on the campus.
According to NIBM authorities, the institute feels that their lives are under constant threat due to numerous incidents of sandalwood theft from the campus in the past.
As per NIBM Chief Administrative Officer Soni Philip, the institute guards have previously sustained injuries while preventing theft attempts.
“Armed with weapons, they (thieves) had hurt and injured our guards, who ended up in hospitals. Someone had a broken leg, had been hit on the head and was bleeding profusely. Is there anything else we need to do to keep things on hold? If somebody loses their life and there are students on campus, then who is going to be held responsible for the situation that prevails? Are we waiting for someone to be attacked?” asked Philip in her interaction with Hindustan Times.
HT on Monday reported that a tender has been issued by the institute on March 13 stating that the tree authority department, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) dated February 16, 2023, has accorded its permission to NIBM for cutting 60 sandalwood trees.
The regional forest officer, forest department Wanowrie, Pune, has identified and provided a valuation of the trees to be cut.
In this regard, the institute has decided to award the work which includes the cutting of earmarked identified trees and immediate transportation of these trees out of the campus with a proper permit from the local authority, disposal of all the debris and clearance from the locations of this work.
The institute has invited sealed tenders from interested agencies and firms for the scope of work mentioned above viz., cutting and sale of sandalwood trees, in the prescribed form along with detailed information about the agency.
Philip further informed that there have been at least a dozen FIRs lodged at various police stations and formal permission has been taken from authorities to cut the trees.
“There are records with Ruby Hall and hospitals, people were injured and taken to Sassoon hospital. Is there more about the incident to build up? The institute has to be blown into pieces and we have to come up with a way to justify ourselves. This is a factual situation and we cannot wait for somebody to get killed on the campus. We have around a dozen or more FIRs lodged at the Kondhwa police station. We have been formally accorded the permission by the authorities subject to ten to fifteen conditions which include planting new trees in lieu of cut trees,” she said.
