The 7-km stretch on NH-80, temporarily repaired with brick dust, on way to the venue of Vikramshila Mahotsav. Picture by Amit Kumar

Sujit Kumar’s ordeal started soon after he alighted from a train at Kahalgaon railway station on his way to Vikramshila.

A New Delhi resident, Kumar, was in Bhagalpur last week to attend a marriage ceremony in his friend’s family and the Vikramshila Mahotsav. Along with wife Meera, who had studied history at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Sujit had decided to visit the ancient seat of learning.

“Once we reached Kahalgaon station, we did not get any mode of transport. We called up a friend in Bhagalpur, who sent his vehicle after two hours. The 7-km journey from Kahalgaon to the half-excavated site of the ancient ruins was horrible because of the bumpy roads,” he recalled.

The Kumars’ bitter experience corroborate the residents’ anger with the government’s alleged apathy towards the university.

“My friends from other places want to visit Vikramshila. But considering the hardship, I discouraged them,” said Pritish Roy, the area manager of a medical company.

Two approach roads to the excavation site from Kahalgaon (NH-80) have been in a dilapidated condition since long.

The condition of the 31-km stretch on NH-80 from Bhagalpur to Pirpainty via Kahalgaon is also dilapidated. Sources in the national highway division of the Bhagalpur road construction department, however, said construction work was held up since 2011 because of a directive by a court in Darjeeling, Bengal.

Kahalgaon sub-divisional officer Sanjay Kumar refused to say anything on the lack of basic infrastructure at Vikramshila.