HC asks Uttarakhand Govt to start classes in Pithoragarh engineering college

NAINITAL: The Uttarakhand High Court has directed the state government to invite tenders for completing the basic infrastructure work at the Nanhi Pari Seemant Engineering College in Pithoragarh and start regular classes there. A division bench of Chief Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal issued these instructions on Tuesday.

The college, located 15 km from Pithoragarh, was built at a cost of Rs 14.5 crore, but the classes had to be shifted to the KNU Government Secondary School after the first floor of the college got filled with debris after some landslides in the area.

A controversy erupted as the classes could not be held in the college despite the state government spending Rs 14.5 crore on building it. The High Court took suo motu cognisance of the matter and sought a report from the administration.

The court was told that classes will continue in 10 prefabricated rooms built in the campus of the nearby Government Secondary College and that an alternative route is proposed to be built from Pithoragarh city via Chandak, which will reduce the distance of the institute from the city from 15 km to only three-and-a-half km.

Hearing the petition, the court said that after starting the tender process in this regard, the state government should inform the court about its progress within four weeks so that there is no further delay in the construction of the building.