Construction in progress on the IIT-Bihta campus. Picture by Jaybrota Das

The Indian Institute of Technology campus coming up at Bihta would keep the classic charm of IITs intact without compromising with its modern outlook.

The IIT-Patna, running from Patliputra Colony since 2008, would finally shift to Bihta this December. According to Subhash Pandey, the registrar of the institute, the new campus would be a state-of-the-art self-sustaining facility.

“The Khagaul grid would supply power 24x7. We would have a dedicated power connection. There would be minimal chance of load-shedding on the campus,” he said.

The work on 33KV power lines is being carried out on a war footing and so far 9km work has been completed. The separate power line would supply electricity to the IIT only.

The new IIT campus is coming up on 500 acres at Amraha village in Bihta, around 35km from Patna.

The academic block, which would have a library, would be centrally located. All premier institutions, including the IITs, have a centrally located academic block with library. Even the Nalanda University campus, which is coming up in Rajgir, will have centrally located academic block.

“The library would come up at the academic block. The entire campus would have the IIT essence but it would be very modern,” Pandey said.

To accommodate boys, work on a G+8 building is going on. It would be a 1,000-occupancy hostel. There would be a block to accommodate 200 girls. The campus would also have B and D-type flats for faculty and others. The B-type flats would have three bedrooms, a hall and kitchen (3BHK). It would be a G+8 facility. The D-type flats would be 2BHK and G+4.

A market would be developed to ensure the faculty members and students do not have to step outside the campus to buy necessary items. The new campus would also have a primary school for children of faculty members and other employees. As construction of the first phase is going on, the administration has decided to set up a central school once the second phase of construction is completed.

Shapoorji Pallonji Company Limited, a Mumbai-based construction firm, has been given the task. The construction work of the Bihta campus started one-and-a-half years ago and since then the Union government has assigned Rs 388 crore for its construction.

Varun Kumar, a fourth-year computer science student, said: “We are excited about the institute being shifted to Bihta by the year-end.”