The historic Raja Shiva Prasad College, better known as RSP College Jharia, will soon be shifted from Bhagatdih area to Jamadoba, 6km away, due to subsidence threat in the underground fire raging at nearby BCCL Rajapur Colliery at Batacola.

The gracious white and red building of the college set up way back in 1951 on eight acres given by then Jharia estate ruler Kali Prasad Singh has been the area's landmark but the underground fire threat compels the shift. A constituent unit of Vinoba Bhave University (VBU), the safety of its 6,000 students is at stake.

But, though the district administration has transferred 10 acres for the college for its new campus at Jamadoba, the college administration is not too happy about it. It would have preferred Belgarhia, around 5km from the existing college building, where rehab quarters of the underground fire-hit people are also being built.

Confirming the development, additional collector of Dhanbad Satyendra Kumar said: "We have transferred 10 acres for the college on Jamadoba-Putki Road and now it is up to the district administration to go ahead with the construction."

Rehabilitation in-charge of JRDA Vijay Kumar Gupta stressed chief secretary Rajbala Verma during her Tuesday visit to the district gave clear-cut instructions to shift the college at the earliest. "BCCL will fund the building," said Gupta.

In a related move, the college has also been asked to run its Plus Two classes at a half-constructed hospital building of state government at Baniahir, which lying unused some 3km away from the existing RSP College building to separate intermediate classes from undergraduate and postgraduate ones.

In a related move, the college has also been asked to run its Plus Two classes at a half-constructed hospital building of state government at Baniahir, which is lying unused some 3km away from the existing RSP College building, to separate intermediate classes from undergraduate and postgraduate ones.

A team of state higher and technical education department last week visited Jharia and inspected the newly selected land in Jamadoba and the unused hospital building meant for intermediate classes.

But, head of botany of RSP College J.N. Singh, who is also the college spokesman, said they would soon meet newly appointed VBU vice chancellor Ramesh Sharan over the new location.

"Had land been allocated to us in Belgarhia where people from underground fire-affected area of Jharia are being rehabilitated, it would have been better," Singh said. He added they had also been shown a plot near Dhansar belonging to Coal Board, near Kumar Talkies, but the idea was nixed as Dhansar falls in Dhanbad circle and the college building has to be shifted within Jharia circle only.

The underground fire raging beneath the 10th seam of Rajapur Colliery since 2006 is spreading towards the college. In the last decade, steps like using nitrogen foam and water barriers near the fire-affected seam were initiated by BCCL with the help of Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research. But these only helped slow down the fire and not prevent it entirely from inching towards the college.