4 yrs on, govt college in Haridwar continues to face infrastructure challenges
Haridwar: Nearly four years after a govt degree college was established in Haridwar's Bhupatwala, following a long-standing public demand and an initiative led by the then education minister Madan Kaushik, the institute continues to operate out of a rented building, lacking basic infrastructure required for a proper academic environment.
Despite these limitations, the college offers the widest range of undergraduate courses in Haridwar, including 10 subjects in arts, and 5 in the sciences, and commerce. Notably, it also has the highest number of regular faculty members — 17 in total — among other colleges in the city.
However, student enrolment remains low. "When I retired last year on June 30, the number of students was just 300," said Dinesh Kumar Shukla, the college's founding principal.
Shukla mentioned that the Nagar Nigam Haridwar, in a resolution, had agreed to grant the college 16 bigha of land near Pavan Dham, but later demanded Rs 47 crore for it. "It is now for the state govt to take a decision in the matter," he said.
The current principal, Sanjiv Mehrotra, said the resolution did not mention if the land would be given for free. He said that as per govt rules, a college can be built only on free or donated land.
Presently, the college is being run from five rooms of an ashram, which are too small to be used as classrooms. "There are no laboratories for science subjects, no library, no office, and no basic amenities for the staff or the students. The principal's office accommodates both the principal and clerks. With other rooms used by the ashram, it is difficult to maintain a teaching atmosphere there," a college employee said.
Expressing regret that the college was not serving the purpose it was meant for, Mehrotra said, "In the absence of infrastructure, students in the city are unable to benefit from it. We earnestly hope that the govt will take necessary steps to make it better serve the students, especially in the northern part of the city."
Notably, students in the area have to struggle to travel to other colleges in Haridwar as it is worst affected by traffic during numerous fairs and festivals held in the holy city.
Addressing the issue, Haridwar mayor Kiran Jaisal told TOI that the matter would come up for discussion at the next meeting of Nagar Nigam. "Hopefully, a favourable decision will be taken about it," she said.
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