GTA to take up stalled Kurseong college project

SNS, Gangtok, 2 March 2014: The Higher Education Department of the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) is likely to carry forward the construction of classrooms and an auditorium in Kurseong College, the foundation for which was laid earlier when CPI-M leader, Saman Pathak, arranged for financial assistance for the same from his MP Local Area Development (LAD) fund.

It is learnt that the college had earlier planned to build academic class rooms and the auditorium, while later in 2007, the then Rajya Sabha MP from Darjeeling, Mr Pathak came forward to help the college in building the classrooms and the auditorium.

Accordingly, he had given Rs 5 lakh for the construction from his LAD fund. However, sevenyears on, the work has not been taken forward and the collegeauthorities say there are various reasons for this. According to them, the project has not made headway mainly due to lack of more funds.

However, the GTA's education department has now taken up the cause and will soon begin the construction work.

Kurseong College principal, Prabhat Pradhan, said the GTA highereducation department chief, RB Bhujel, has assured the college that his department will now carry forward the project and spend Rs 32 lakhin it. Mr Pradhan said the college plans to introduce various self-financed courses like BCA, BBA, Mass Communication and Computer Science in the college, and as such the need for the new classrooms.The then urban development minister, Asok Bhattacharya, had laid thefoundation stone for the project in 2007. The construction work for the planned three-storey building had then started.

Mr Pradhan said they have laid the foundation for the building and built one room with the amount given through the MPLAD fund of Rs 5 lakh and an additional college fund of more than Rs 1 lakh.

"However, the political situation the Hills and the lack of more fundsstalled the project after that," Mr Pradhan said.