PM Modi to inaugurate new IIT-Patna campus

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the IIT-Patna campus at Bihta, 35 km west from the heart of Patna, on July 25. He is also scheduled to address a public rally the same day in Muzaffarpur, around 70 km north of the capital city.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the IIT-Patna campus at Bihta, 35 km west from the heart of Patna, on July 25. He is also scheduled to address a public rally the same day in Muzaffarpur, around 70 km north of the capital city.

IIT- Patna director Prof Pushpak Bhattacharya received a communication to this effect from the ministry of human resources and development (MHRD).

The registrar of IIT-Patna, Subhash Pandey, told HT that MHRD joint secretary Rakesh Ranjan, while conveying the intimation about the PM’s proposed programme, had sought its detailed schedule and dais planning (seating arrangement).

“We will send the detailed schedule to the ministry hopefully on Monday and wait for the final concurrence, along with a minute-to-minute programme of the Prime Minister. As of now, we have been communicated that the whole programme should be of 60-90 minutes. The ministry will communicate to us the time slot after consultation with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO),” added Pandey.

The IIT is already in the process of shifting from its temporary campus in Patliputra to its permanent ground at Bihta, a distance of approx 35 kms. “We are doing it in a phase-wise manner, and setting up classrooms and laboratory at the new campus,” added Pandey.

The new academic session is to commence from July 22. Registration and induction of new students will be done at the new campus on July 22 and classes are scheduled to begin from July 25. However, with the inauguration by the Prime Minister slated for July 25, classes will now commence from July 26.

As on date, the IIT-P, formed in 2008, has 970 students and 75-80 faculty members. It has an annual intake of 200 students for undergraduate programme (B.Tech course) in five disciplines.

As per an earlier intimation by the MHRD, the inauguration was supposed to be done on June 29. However, it was deferred as the new campus was not fully ready. “The classrooms, mess, hostel, faculty residence are now ready and we are all set to begin our new academic session from the new campus,” Pandey signed off.

The Bihar government will not take any chances and go in for unprecedented security cover during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public rally in Muzaffarpur,” a state home department official said.

Although Modi’s security is looked after by the Special Protection Group (SPG) - an elite commando force - the Bihar government has directed some of its senior officers to prepare special security arrangement plan for his rally, the official said.

The state government has asked the officials concerned to ensure foolproof security at Muzaffarpur.

“Bihar will be on full alert during the Prime Minister’s rally,” said a police officer. Modi is slated to address a public rally in Bihar on July 25.

“We are gearing up for the Bihar assembly elections and aim to register a victory with twothird majority,” a BJP leader said.