BANGALORE: Students of University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE) are due to receive Rs 85,000 from Bangalore University (BU) for organising a cultural fest called ‘Fiesta’ in December last year. According to student organisers, the then Finance Officer of the University, S A Razvi, promised students to pay the estimated amount before the fest. He failed to do so even after the fest concluded, forcing students to foot the bills themselves. “We met the finance officer several times. We even wrote four letters to him. First, he assured us that the payment will be made. We went ahead and booked the necessary requirements for the fest. We were then given vague excuses forcing us to pay the bills,” said a 7th semester Computer Science student on condition of anonymity. (The copies of the letters are with Express) “There are 3,600 students in UVCE and each one of us pays Rs 225 for cultural fests during admissions. This amounts to Rs 8,10,000. So, we are only asking for our money,” the student added.Finance Officer S A Razvi apparently asked students to postpone the fest due to delay in release of funds. “Since internals and exams were approaching, we were unable to postpone the fest. We had to pay all the bills, including the costumes for fashion show,” the student said. On November 9, UVCE submitted an estimate of Rs 1,16,000 towards the fest. The estimate included sports expenditure, prize money for events, sounds, lighting, stage setup among other things. “The major chunk goes to stage, sound and lighting. The supplier is yet to be paid,” the student added. With S A Razvi transferred and no replacement announced yet, the 5th semester students preparing to organise the fest this year are left with little hope. “This time, we have given an estimate of Rs 1,31,000. We hope that we can recover at least last year’s dues,” an organiser said.However, BU Vice-Chancellor Dr N Prabhu Dev told Express, “If the Finance Officer has erred, the students can contact me directly. They can always walk into my office. I have always encouraged cultural activities. I would like the students to meet me personally,” he said.
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