MULTAN, Oct 10: The continuous removal of earth from a private land for construction purposes poses a threat to buildings of two of the hostels of the Bahauddin Zakariya University.

Hundreds of students live in Ali and Hamza halls built on the southern part of the university land. Most of them study at engineering and agriculture colleges of the university.

A huge depression measuring around 40 feet down the surface with a radius of nearly 500 meters has been created only a few furlongs away from the two hostels and a SUPARCO centre constructed nearby on the university land. Digging has been done so deep that sub-soil water has started oozing out at some places.

Land sliding from the surface has become a permanent feature. The process gathers pace during rains. Soil experts say an accident may occur if appropriate remedial measures are not taken immediately.

People in the adjoining villages told this scribe that the process of removing earth started a couple of years back when some influential landlords in league with some university officials started selling loose earth from the area.

They said trolleys and bullock-carts laden with loose earth had been allowed to pass through the university even a few months ago. A BZU official said that initially some contractors, who were doing some development work at the university, lifted earth from the area while the officials concerned kept a mum over it.

Later, owners of the adjacent land also started removing earth from their area. The matter came to the knowledge of BZU vice-chancellor Prof Dr Karamat Ali recently when vice-chairperson of the BZU agricultural farm committee Mumtaz Ahmed Manhais expressed concern over it. The VC immediately constituted a committee under BZU Agriculture College principal Dr Mushtaq Saleem to look into the matter.

In the meanwhile, the university urged the district government to ban earth removing under Section 144 CrPC from Kotla Matarban. Moreover, the university is also planning to move a court against earth removing.

The office of the university resident officer is supposed to be responsible for taking care of the property of the institute. When asked, RO Dr Muhammad Ali Shah gave a detail of measures taken recently to stop the further erosion of the university land.