Calcutta University to shift science campus to New Town: VC

Calcutta University has taken the decision for shifting its science campus to New Town in future, Vice-Chancellor Sonali Chakraborty Banerjee said Thursday.

"We have decided all the science and technology subjects will be taught in the New Town campus once the buildings at New Town come up in future," Chakraborty told reporters on the sidelines of a university outreach programme for children in a nearby slum here.

She said the detailed project report (DPR) of the proposed new facilities are being prepared and the foundation of the building and boundary wall of the new town campus on 5 acres of land, have already been constructed.

The DPR will be submitted to the state government for sanction of funds.

The state had recently sanctioned Rs 100 crore fund to Calcutta University for innovative research.

To a question the top CU official said the existing building infrastructure at Raja Bazar and Ballygunje Science campuses will be utilised by the university for other purposes when the science campus will be shifted to New Town but in what way, will be decided at an appropriate time.

"We will try to start the main work as soon as possible," she said.

Presently Rajabazar and Ballygunje campuses are not in really good shape, she said when asked for the reason for taking the decision for shifting to a new, integrated building complex.

There are also plans to shift the present nano-science, nano-technology Salt Lake campus of CU to the new building complex in New Town when the infrastructure will be ready, she said.

The Salt Lake building can then be made an international guest house of CU.

The VC did not give a time frame about the project to be completed.

Thirty-two science and eight technology departments will thus be shifted to the new buildings at New Town once the infrastructure was ready, the VC said.

Presently applied mathematics, computer science and engineering, applied physics, electronic science, chemistry, radio physics are among the subjects taught at Rajabazar Science College campus of CU.

The Ballygunje Science College campus offers courses in Agricultural Sciences, Botany, genetics, geography, geology, marine science, zoology, atmospheric science, microbiology among others.