BIT-Sindri

Dhanbad, Dec. 25: BIT-Sindri, the lone state-run engineering college grappling with staff crunch, not to mention the lack of infrastructure, is hoping that something positive will come out of a high-level meeting on the cradle’s facelift in the capital on Friday.

Institute director S.K. Singh and additional chief secretary of state science and technology department A.K. Pandey will sit in Ranchi to discuss the cradle’s upgradation into a premier technical institute.

The institute authorities are confident of a change in fortune as the state government has issued two separate tenders for construction of classrooms and a boys hostel, even before the meeting.

While the tender for a classroom complex at a cost of Rs 4.95 crore has been issued by building construction department on December 23, the one for the hostel worth Rs 4.40 lakh has been issued by PWD on December 7.

Both the buildings will come up from the funds allocated by the department to the cradle in 2009-10.

Director Singh said, “The other infrastructure development and funds needed for it will come up for discussion in the December 27 meeting.”

Notably, the institute has already submitted a comprehensive report on infrastructure that need to be upgraded and manpower requirement as sought by the department in November.

“We sent the report on November 26. We clearly explained that the students’ count had gone up from 1,442 in 2000-2001 to 3,344 this year, but there had been no expansion of buildings, classrooms, labs or hostels. Similar was the case with faculty members, technical and grade III staff,” Singh added.

The cradle has sought seven more hostels — five for boys and two for girls — with 300 beds each. The existing 26 hostels can only accommodate around 2,000 students. The administration somehow puts them up, leading to overcrowding.

As of now, the department has issued tender for one boy’s hostel. The three-storey building will come up in front of the club ground.

The classroom complex, on the other hand, will be developed in front of mining engineering department and will comprise a parking lot and a seminar hall.