Bhubaneswar, July 20: The new campus of IIT-Bhubaneswar at Argul has started functioning, but partially.

About 600 students have been shifted from the institute hostels at Kesura and near IIT Kharagpur's extension centre to the new campus. So far, two hostels, a guesthouse and 40 staff quarters are ready at Argul.

R.K. Rajkumar, director of IIT-Bhubaneswar, said students staying at new hostels would have to travel to the city campus at Toshali plaza till things are ready at Argul.

The director and other officials will also operate from the transit location for the time being.

In the second phase, the institute plans to shift the staff to the new place.

To ensure safety of the students on the new campus, the authorities have deployed a superintendent and four security guards for each hostel. Besides, they have also ensured primary health care and other facilities for the students.

Later, the teaching faculty and other senior officials will also be moving to the new campus. Construction of quarters for the professors and non-teaching staff is complete, a college official said.

"Our students had been longing to shift to the permanent campus. This shift will definitely make them happy," said Rajkumar.

"Initially, the campus may pose many challenges, but we are ready to face them and overcome the same as early as possible," he said. He hoped that the campus would soon be buzzing with academic and extra-curricular activities.

Efforts have already been put in to take up a massive plantation activity and students have been asked to join in this endeavour to turn the campus into a green zone.

The institute was supposed to move to its permanent campus in December 2013. However, it will take about six more months for the institute to completely shift to the new place, said an official. At present, the institute functions from eight campuses across the city.