The century-old University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE) at K.R. Circle, which has been suffering from dwindling infrastructure, is all set to get a facelift. It will be restructured after taking suggestions from archaeologists and conservation architects.
Members of the Bangalore University (BU) syndicate, during a meeting in November, decided to seek the expertise of those in the field to help with the repair and restoration, as the buildings are heritage structures.
UVCE Principal K.R. Venugopal said there are demands from several quarters, including their alumni, to retain the original character of the college. “We will take the opinion of the Archaeology Department about how we to go about the restoration,” he said.
The campus at K.R. Circle has 3,200 students while the Jnanabharathi campus has 1,400.
The mechanical block, which requires immediate attention, will be restructured first. Prof. Venugopal said the block was a horse stable during the British rule, which they wanted to convert to the tram service headquarters, but never got around to it.
Sources said that the laboratories will be strengthened and modernised, and the classrooms will be restructured. Besides this, plans are being made for the Electronics and Communications block, and the Aeronautical and Space Technology departments. A museum of UVCE and Sir M. Visvesvaraya, and an amphitheatre would come up, they added.
The State Task Force (STF) for Quality Assurance in Public Constructions has submitted a report stating that the buildings require immediate attention. Following this, the college submitted the estimated cost. Coinciding with the centenary celebrations, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during his budget speech decided to allocate ₹25 crore towards the institute. BU’s syndicate then decided to hand over the work to the Public Works Department.
However, while the work is all set to kick off, lecturers are worried about which varsity would oversee the restoration work. While the State government has transferred and divided properties among Bengaluru Central University, Bengaluru North University and Bangalore University, it has remained silent about whose ambit UVCE would fall under.
While the Kori committee that studied the trifurcation of Bangalore University said that it should be shifted to the Jnanabharathi campus, there was strong resistance from students and alumni of the college.
