Amid the uproar over the alleged illegal transfer of funds from Shri Maharshi Valmiki Development Corporation, the lack of funding for the Valmiki Studies Chair at Hampi University has become a significant issue in Hospet, Vijayanagar.
“There is no money for the Valmiki study chair. We submitted a proposal to the government last year, requesting ₹2 crore to establish a Valmiki tribe research center for permanent research and documentation, but we haven’t received any response,” stated Vice-Chancellor Prof. D. V. Paramashivamurthy.
The chair requires a director, two research assistants, a computer operator, a junior assistant, and a jawan, but none of these positions are filled. Prof. Amaresh Yatagal, the Director of the Faculty of Studies at the University and organizer of the chair, has to manage all its activities and seminars within a budget of ₹2.50 lakh from a ₹15 lakh deposit. Consequently, most of the chair’s activities have been halted for the past four years.
The overgrown plants surrounding the ₹50 lakh building highlight the cessation of work, underscoring the university’s funding woes.
Plans to publish works on various dimensions of Valmiki Ramayana, Valmiki community and history, and conduct seminars, workshops, lectures, and public awareness programs have stalled due to the funding shortage. Only eight works have been published so far, with three pending, according to Prof. Amaresh Yatagal.
A senior professor suggested that if a portion of the funds allocated to the corporation was directed to Valmiki Peethas at various state universities, such financial misappropriations could have been avoided.