A heritage campus may be up for sale

A heritage campus may be up for sale
Deccan Herald

Any takers for this piece of land? Bangalore University is toying with the idea of selling off the University Vivesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE) premises

located at K R Circle in the heart of Bangalore.

The BU Syndicate, the highest decision making body of the University, is said to have discussed the proposal at its meeting last month.

The reason: Students attending classes at UVCE are not able to concentrate because of the noise from heavy traffic at the busy K R Circle.

The proposal moots shifting the prestigious 90-year-old college campus to the Jnana Bharati campus in Kengeri and offer the prime locale and building to the

government for a price.

The University is quoting something like Rs 90 crore, highly placed sources told Deccan Herald.

The proposal has been sent to the Planning and Monitoring Board of the University for its opinion, while the students are completely oblivious of the goings on.

They also point out that only laboratories are located adjacent to the road, while the lecture blocks are housed in the centre of the campus and the question of

any disturbance due to noise pollution does not arise.

Rich history

UVCE is one of the oldest engineering institutes in India. It was established in 1917 by Sir M Visvesvaraya.

It was known as the Government Engineering College in the first half of the century and later renamed after its illustrious founder. BU had retained the college

under its jurisdiction even after the Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) came into being. The Syndicate proposal also moots urging the government to

allow the University to sell the premises to private parties so that the funds generated could be utilised for developing infrastructure for the college at its new

location in the Jnana Bharati campus.

A rage

Admission to UVCE is most sought after by students during the seat selection process conducted by the Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell.

The under-graduate and post-graduate courses in computer science and engineering, electronics and communication, electrical and electronics engineering,

besides mechanical engineering function from the UVCE heritage buildings at the K R Circle campus.

The civil engineering and architecture wings of UVCE were shifted to Jnana Bharati campus a few years back