Premier cradle Indian School of Mines (ISM), Dhanbad, is looking for flats and houses outside its campus to accommodate senior students and research scholars to tide over the existing space crunch and infrastructure gaps.

The ISM issued a notice in all leading newspapers and its website www.ismdhanbad.ac.in on June 9, inviting applications from builders and flat owners willing to let out their houses on rent.

Sources claimed that the institute, grappling with the space crunch in the wake of the growing number of students, was looking for at least 70 double or triple or four-bedroom units, each of at least 1,000sqft area, for 500 students. Bidders have been asked to reply by June 26.

Currently, there are 11 hostels on the campus with a total capacity of around 6,000. But those are not enough.

ISM registrar Colonel (retd) M.K. Singh said this would be a temporary arrangement, which would continue till a new hostelwith a capacity of 2,000 comes up. "There is no harm in accommodating students outside the campus. Several new IITs like the one in Patna are doing it since long due to limited hostel facilities within the campus," he said.

Primarily, research scholars and senior students will be accommodated in those flats.

"Research scholars and senior students require greater degree of concentration for their studies and cannot be accommodated with juniors. So, majority of the flats procured outside will be given to researchers and senior students," the registrar said.

For students' convenience, Singh added, the cradle would select flats or houses situated within a 5km radius of the institute.