State team, GTA mull feasibility of Tukdah engineering college building housing DHU temporarily

Amitava Banerjee | MP | 20 Dec 2018 | Darjeeling: A state inspection team, along with Gorkhaland Territorial Administration representatives, visited the engineering college building at Tukdah to study the feasibility of whether the under-construction building can be used to temporarily house the Darjeeling Hill University from 2019. 

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

A university has also been a long standing demand of the residents of Darjeeling and Kalimpong Hills. 

The Centre, however, has turned a deaf ear to demands of a central university, despite a clause in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Memorandum of Agreement signed between the Union and state governments 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 Darjeeling Chowrasta. 

Incidentally, the GTA had proposed that the state government take over the newly constructed engineering college at Tukdah, on the land of the Sericulture Directorate, West Bengal with the help of CSR funds received from NHPC Ltd. and convert it into a state-aided engineering college. 

The order issued by the state government on November 22, 2018 stated: "The department of Higher Education, government of West Bengal has decided to assess the land and built-up infrastructure of the newly constructed engineering college at Tukdah, Darjeeling and its suitability of plan and design as per AICTE norms." 

The state government has also constituted a committee to ascertain whether the under construction building in Tukdah can be used as the engineering campus of the proposed Darjeeling Hill University, the main campus of which would be set up in Mongpoo. 

The other option that the inspecting team would also consider is whether the preliminary operation of the academic activities of the university can be started at the building in Tukdah, before completion of the main campus in Mongpoo. 

The four member committee includes Prof. Subha Sankar Sarkar, vice-chancellor, Netaji Subash Open University, Dr. Amalendu Basu, director of Technical Education, West Bengal, Dr. Prabal Deb, principal, Cooch Behar Government Engineering College and Pranabesh Das, additional director of Technical Education, West Bengal. The four member team held a meeting with Binay Tamang, chairman, 

Board of Administrators, GTA, in Darjeeling on Thursday, before visiting Tukdah. The team was accompanied by Darjeeling MLA Amar Singh Rai and Karuna Pradhan, director, Engineering department, GTA.