Kolkata's Presidency University campus gears up for a makeover

KOLKATA: Corridors of nostalgia, walked by the likes of Swami Vivekananda, Subhas Chandra Bose, Satyajit Ray and Amartya Sen, are all up for a face lift. The 150 year old heritage campus spread over 17 acres would see a number of firsts in next six months. The Rs 50 crore allotment made by the state government last year for the College Street campus is being used to put together an open air amphitheater, a museum, an exhibition gallery a black box theatre, a creche and a medical unit. Alongside, there would be revamping of lecture halls, overhauling of auditoriums and other common facilities of the university. The 15 departments the university campus houses are all being modernized in terms of infrastructure and technology. These apart notice boards across the college have been digitized and a Presidency app launched in the last two months for internal notices and communications.
“Since it is a heritage structure we had to be extremely careful with the nuances of the changes being brought to the campus. Alongside beautification, landscaping and repair works we have also brought about some vertical expansions. For instance an additional 50000 square feet floor worth Rs2.5 crores is being raised to shift the Math department,” said Anuradha Lohia, vice chancellor, Presidency University.

The state allotted funds apart; some of the alumni have also been contributing funds to put up several facilities in the campus.

The 10 acre land in Rajarhat gifted by the Trinamool government to the university in 2014 is being used up for putting together the second campus of Presidency. The Rs372 crore state funded expansion will be a three phase project with the first phase’s expected completion in December 2017. Rs183 crores has already been allotted for the first phase. This fund would be used in putting up two towers of 14 floors each. To start with these new facilities would house five new departments namely School of Public Policy, School of Design, School of Big Data Analytics, School of Astro Physics and School of Biotechnology.

The university is also spreading its aegis to the hills of North Bengal with Himalayan Centre of Presidency University in Kurseong.

Another Rs93 crore project funded by the state government, the facility would provide master’s programme alongside courses relevant for the local community. “We have been allotted 2.5 acres of land initially but it would go on to become a 10 acre campus there. Also, before the first phase of work gets completed in the next two to three years we would be using up empty spaces in the area voluntarily provided to us by institutes like Kurseong College and West Bengal Forest Training School, to start a winter school, followed by a summer school,” added Lohia.