Ministry of Railways on Thursday clarified it has no plans to shift the Indian Railways Institute for Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (IRIMEE), Jamalpur, to Lucknow.
“Any assertions to this effect are incorrect and misleading and do not have the approval of the ministry. Indian Railways is very proud of the history and legacy of IRIMEE and there is no question of it being transferred from its present location. In fact, all efforts are to further strengthen it further,” said a statement from the ministry.
Earlier, chief Minister Nitish Kumar had written to railway minister Piyush Goyal, urging him to intervene in the matter following reports of alleged shifting of IRMEE, while his minister Sanjay Jha tweeted to voice government’s concerns.
As the statement came, Jha thanked the Railway minister for the clarification and said “the Bihar Govt is committed to extend its finest cooperation to ensure the institution further flourishes”.
The Railway ministry statement said there was plan to enlarge the activities of IRIMEE to also impart educational programs in transportation technology and management. “Several additional educational programs starting with one-year diploma courses at Jamalpur are planned to be introduced for which curriculum development and design is underway,” it said.
The training of mechanical engineers for the railways started at IRMEE in 1927 and presently it conducts training courses for in-service officers.