The old campus of Ranchi University do not seem to be in good shape as the recent incident of collapsing of roof at the office of Dean, Students’ Welfare (DSW) has raised major concerns among students as well as officials regarding the condition of buildings at Ranchi University campus.
The roof of DSW’s cabin collapsed on Thursday night, creating a fear among the members of the university. DSW PK Verma said, “We could never tell by looking at the ceiling that it would collapse. We worked in the cabin till Thursday evening and the next morning we were informed that the roof collapsed overnight. My office has been shifted to a new room for the time being, till the roof is repaired."
Verma said that this incident is definitely worrisome and the possibility that this can be repeated cannot be ignored. "There are some buildings which have grown really old and new buildings should be constructed in their place immediately. The syndicate is constantly giving approvals to pull down the old buildings and construct new ones," he said.
The DSW chamber along with the entire administrative block was renovated in 2017 by the Jharkhand State Building Construction Corporation Ltd (JSBCCL). Verma said, “We have already informed JSBCCL about the incident and they would be sending in a team to evaluate the weak portions of the building and fix the problem.”
The incident has raised fear among students, who are now demanding immediate renovation of all the old buildings and at the same time requesting for construction of the new varsity campus to commence.
Neha Mardi, president of RU students’ union said, “The arts block of the university and the tribal and regional languages department building is in ruins and portions of it can collapse any minute. The university and the government should take a lesson from this incident and immediately begin renovation of these buildings for the safety of the students.”
Mardi said that the work of new campus at Chiraundi should also commence soon as it will be a time taking process and will take years to complete.
Managing director of JSBCCL, Sunil Kumar informed that the DPR for new campus at Chiraundi has already been sent to the higher and technical education department for approval. “Once we get the approval from department, the construction would commence,” he said.
The new campus is supposed to come up on an area of 87 acres and would comprise of administrative complex, academic complex, examination complex, support facilities, hostel block and residential block for faculty and staff.
On being contacted regarding the delay in approval of DPR, Secretary Higher and Technical Education department, Rajesh Kumar Sharma said, “The work of boundary wall construction at the new campus area is ongoing. Once that work is completed, we will look into the DPR.”
An officer of JSBCCL informed that the work of constructing the boundary wall commenced in the last trimester of 2017 and was supposed to be completed by December 2018. However, it seems to have been delayed by eight months.
The officer said on terms of anonymity, "Around 75% construction work is completed but the locals are creating problem in completing the remaining construction. The land is gair majarua government land but the locals have formed their Masna Sthal (religious place for tribals) at some spots.”
The officer informed that the local residents are now insisting that boundary wall should leave out the Masna Sthal. “We are seeking help from the district administration to help us out in this situation so that the construction work can be resumed,” he said.
