HYDERABAD, Sept 19: The pro-vice chancellor of the Sindh Agriculture University, Nizamuddin Halepoto, took over the charge of acting vice-chancellor on Friday when the protesting university employees called off their 79-day strike and rejoined duties.

The controversial vice-chancellor Dr Basheer Ahmed Shaikh is reported to have proceeded on three-week leave. For more than two months, he had been facing agitation, including strike, by the university’s employees whose major demand is removal of the vice-chancellor on the charges of corruption and nepotism.

The university officials were told by Registrar Riyasat Ali Kubar that the vice-chancellor had proceeded on three-week leave and Halepoto had taken over the charge as acting vice-chancellor.

Soon after taking over the charge, the acting vice-chancellor visited the hunger strike camp and asked the protesting employees to call off their strike, assuring them that their problems would be solved.

Speaking on the occasion, the leaders of the employees, Hussain Bux Veesar, Abdul Majeed Rashidi and Karam Ali Punhoon asked the workers to immediately rejoin duties and clear the backlog of work by Tuesday. They appealed to the acting vice-chancellor to release their salaries by Monday.

The employees’ leaders warned that if Shaikh returned to the university after three weeks, they would demand an inquiry into his alleged corrupt practices. He had become a controversial figure throughout Sindh, they said.

Sources told Dawn that the office-bearers of the All Sindh Universities’ Federation and leaders of the SAU employees were summoned at the Sindh Governor’s House four days ago where secretary to the governor Aftab Lodhi and S.M.Qureshi held talks with them.

Following the talks, the vice-chancellor was asked to proceed on leave.

Mr Lodhi, according to reports, held out assurance that the salaries of the employees would be released by the acting vice-chancellor.

The employees’ delegation presented a 39-point charter of demand which included a judicial inquiry against the vice-chancellor.