Darjeeling Hills to get first engineering college soon

KOLKATA: West Bengal's Darjeeling Hills will get its first engineering college at Takdah on August 27, an official said on Monday. A senior official of the state education department told PTI that the college, Darjeeling Hill Institute of Technology and Management (DHITM), is affiliated to the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (MAKAUT) and has been approved by the All India Council for Technical Education.

Established by the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) with support from the department of education, the institute is funded by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd (NHPC) under its CSR initiative, the official said.

"We have facilitated the process of getting NOC and have extended all support," the official added. The institute will offer undergraduate courses in Computer Science, Mechanical, Civil, and Electrical Engineering, with a special paper on Artificial Intelligence. In line with the National Education Policy, the college will also offer courses in Hotel Management and Culinary Technology. GTA chief executive Anit Thapa said the institute will have a placement cell with the goal of providing "100 per cent placement of students."

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"The smart campus will provide both technical and management education to aspiring and enthusiastic students in the Hills and give a boost to the region’s economic growth," Thapa added. The project will be managed by the Odisha Child Welfare and Education Trust (OCWET). The inauguration ceremony on August 27 will be attended by Additional Chief Secretary (Education) Dushyant Nariala, MAKAUT vice-chancellor Tapas Chakraborty, Thapa, and senior officials of GTA, NHPC, and OCWET.