3-member committee to visit Tukdah to study feasibility of upcoming engineering college

Amitava Banerjee | MP | Darjeeling: A three member state government committee is scheduled to visit Tukdah to study the feasibility of the engineering college that is coming up.

The committee will hand over its recommendation on whether the engineering college is feasible or if it can be temporarily used to house the Darjeeling Hill University.

Work is on at the Mongpu Polytechnic College and it could start by the next academic session.

Incidentally, it has been a long standing demand that a University be built in Darjeeling or Kalimpong.

The Centre, however, turned a deaf ear to constitute a Central University despite a clause is mentioned in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Memorandum of Agreement signed between the Union, the Bengal Government and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

Finally, the state government took up the matter. A "Darjeeling Hill University Bill" was passed in the Bengal Assembly on July 31.

The Chief Minister flagged off the project on September 5 from a government programme held at the Darjeeling Chowrasta.

"Recently, we had a meeting with the Education department. We requested them to speed up the project so that the University becomes operational from the next academic session. For this, we gave two proposals including using some old discarded British bunglows of Mongpu or the engineering college that is being constructed in Tukdah," stated Amar Singh Rai, MLA, Darjeeling.

Incidentally, the GTA is constructing an engineering college in Tukdah funded by the NHPC under their CSR activity.

"A three member committee has been constituted by the state government to study the feasibility of the engineering college of if the building could be used for the Darjeeling University. They will visit Tukdah and Mongpu and then submit a report at the earliest.

The government will then act as per the committee's recommendations," stated Rai.

Meanwhile, work is on at Jogighat, 5km away from Mongpu where the Darjeeling Hill University will come up.

A land of 100-acre has been earmarked for the University. The building plan is

being prepared.

A power sub-station is also coming up next to the University. Construction of roads and drains is also being done.

The GTA will be constructing a new road connecting Jogighat to National Highway 10 through which travel time to Siliguri will be reduced to 45 minutes.

This is the first state-aided university to be set up in the Hills since independence.

The campus of the university will be named after Tenzing Norgay, Kanchenjunga and Acharya Bhanubhakta.

The University will offer study programs in Travel and tourism management; Tea management; Horticulture; Himalayan studies along with Humanities, Science, IT and Media.

Meanwhile, work is progressing at a steady pace for the Himalayan Presidency University Campus in Kurseong. "Some buildings of the Dow Hill campus and hostels will be ready by next year," stated Joyshi Das Gupta, District Magistrate, Darjeeling.