MULTAN, June 8: The high-tech laboratory of the Bahauddin Zakariya University's chemistry department has been lying inoperative for the last couple of months because of alleged indecision at the management level.

Funded by the Higher Education Commission, the laboratory was proposed to be set up under the title - Strengthening of the laboratories and library of the department of chemistry - in April 2001, to the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST).

The MOST approved the project at a meeting of its Departmental Development Working Party (DDWP) in Islamabad on April 7, 2001. The DDWP allocated Rs39.762 million, including the foreign exchange component of Rs2 million. The FEC was earmarked to bear expenses for the laboratory staff's training abroad.

BZU chemistry department chairman Prof Dr Humayun Pervez was appointed the project director to establish a state-of-the-art laboratory for the postgraduate and doctoral research. At that time, no one in the department's faculty was considered to be experienced enough to set up a laboratory.

Sources in the BZU said Prof Humayun convinced senior chemist Dr Saeed Iqbal, who at that time was working at a senior post against high remunerations with a pharmaceutical firm, to join the department to utilize his vast experience of setting up instrument laboratories in the country.

Both of them worked hard to carry out the task and purchased most of the equipment at a price 40 per cent less than the one offered by the firms cited in their quotations. Their effort was appreciated by the VC on several occasions.

However, sources said, the VC transferred Dr Iqbal to the BHU pharmacy department as chairman at a time when the laboratory was in the completion process. Dr Humayun protested the move and described it as a conspiracy against establishment of the laboratory. Dr Iqbal later left the BZU and joined the newly established Sargodha University.

In a communique to the VC, Prof Humayun also alleged that the university's engineering department and audit wing were employing delaying tactics, as their illegal demands were not met. Despite all odds, Prof Humayun succeeded in establishing the laboratory in June last year.

The laboratory was doing well in the field of research both for teachers and students until December last. On Dec 5, a senior teacher left a sophisticated apparatus called Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) unattended after doing some research work along with a group of students.

After a short while, water started leaking out of the apparatus at the laboratory whose most of the equipment was said to be moisture-sensitive. This episode led to a row in the department.

In another surprising move on Jan 6 last, the VC removed Prof Humayun from the chairmanship of the chemistry department and replaced him with another senior teacher, Prof Dr Shahida Begum Niazi.

Sources said Prof Humayun had been opposing promotion of a teacher to the post of professor on technical grounds while the university authorities wanted to overlook his objection during a selection board meeting. That could be made possible by removing him from the office.

On Jan 7, Prof Humayun also resigned as the project director of the laboratory. However, the VC refused to accept his resignation and directed him to keep on working as the project director.

Declining to continue with the job, he requested the VC to give charge of the project to the department's new chairperson so that the research work might not suffer. However, both the VC and Prof Humayun remained stuck to their guns.

Meanwhile, the same teacher again left AAS unattended once in February and then in March last. At this, Dr Humayun wrote a letter to the department chairperson on March 18 to take care of the laboratory affairs saying he was no more responsible for its supervision.

The chairperson in her reply the same day absolved herself of any responsibility regarding maintenance or welfare of the laboratory unless she got clear direction from the authority concerned.

Upon this, Dr Humayun locked the laboratory and later he along with Prof Niazi informed the authorities concerned at the HEC about the affairs through their separate letters. The HEC authorities were apprised of the situation in early May last, but its monitoring team has yet to visit the university.

Teachers and students are bearing the brunt of this situation, but the authorities concerned seem to be least concerned. A senior teacher at the department said there was an approved post of electronic engineer for the laboratory, but the university had yet to advertise this post.

"Had the higher-ups filled the post, the laboratory would have been working smoothly," believed the teacher. When talked, VC Prof Mustafa Chaudhry claimed that he could not find any electronic engineer to look after the laboratory.

He said now he had to request the HEC to send any expert to train the university staff in operating the laboratory equipment. He claimed that Prof Humayun was still the project director. Dr Humayun, when contacted, told this correspondent that he had resigned from the post on Jan 7 last.