Soon, SSU's academic building to get a new look

VARANASI: "Finally there is some hope regarding the renovation of Gothic style old academic building of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University (SSU)," said vice-chancellor of SSU, Dr Binda Prasad Mishra.
Although the university administration still has no clear stand on the renovation works of the university's academic building but they are of the opinion that the renovation work will start soon if all goes well with their newly structured plan.
According to the vice-chancellor, the university has received a fund of Rs 1 crore for the renovation of the building from University Grants Commission (UGC). "We are in constant touch with the non-profit organisation, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) for consultation regarding protection and conservation of the building. They have come up with reports and plan for the building, and are encouraging the renovation work. If all goes well, the renovation work will soon start in the coming months," he said.
He also informed that the state government has not sanctioned any fund for the renovation of the building recently. It may be noted here that several efforts for the renovation of the building were made in the past but none of them succeeded. The building has been facing continuous deterioration and is decaying year by year.
Earlier, state government had released an amount of Rs 66 lakhs as token money for the renovation. The School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi was to help in the renovation work but the government did not approve it, saying that SPA was not a working agency but an educational institution. Second time, an amount of Rs 755.79 lakh was sanctioned in October 2011 for the renovation, repair and conservation of the varsity building.
Later, the government decided that Construction and Design Services (C&DS) of Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam should complete the work under the supervision of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in two years. However, the money was not transferred to C&DS in 2011-2012 and the funds lapsed.
The VC raised question on the working agencies and said that the agencies did not do not abide to the norms and standards of fund transfer as per the government's guidelines. "The working agencies selected in the past were not ready to work as per the rules and regulations prescribed by state government. They wanted all the money at once. Until there are clear rules on how to utilise the funds, I can not give nod to start the work. Crores of rupees have been wasted on the name of renovation of the building and no results have come out. In fact there were several anomalies in the construction works which were planned for the building," he said.
The official academic building of SSU, one of the oldest heritage buildings in the city standing tall since 1852, is slowly losing its grandeur and majestic look. A major portion of the building has developed damages and the lectures halls and ceiling have already collapsed and during rainy reason there is always a fear of roof collapse. Surprisingly, building is considered to be one of the existing Gothic structures left in the entire North India.
In past years, university engineers and others have sought help from 30 departments, architecture schools and experts, including Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the state government for its renovation and maintenance. However, every time some or other obstructions come in the way of the conservation of the building.