National film institute to be re-opened April 15

Kolkata, April 8 The government-run Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) here is to be re-opened from April 15.

The decision to re-open the institute was taken at a high-level meeting between Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi and the institute authorities in New Delhi Tuesday.

"The minister asked the SRFTI authorities to re-open the institute April 15 which marks the beginning of our new session as well. All the dues of the twenty-eight guards from GD Security Services will be cleared soon and they will get alternate employment too," SRFTI chairman Buddhadev Dasgupta told IANS.

He said the new guards from Star Security and Detective Service would be kept on trial for fifteen days before signing any contract with the institute.

The premier film-training institute was shut down last week following a dispute between the authorities and the security guards on contract, backed by West Bengal's ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) trade union arm - Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU).

The guards of GD Security Service used force to stop the newly recruited staff of Star Security and Detective Service from taking the charge.

Later, the SRFTI authorities closed the campus for the safety of the students.

SRFTI, named after film maestro Satyajit Ray, opened in 1995 as an autonomous academic institution under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The institute offers postgraduate diploma courses in film and television.