Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Narendrapur, has posted on its Facebook page images of concrete chunks coming off the ceiling of one of the hostels, Shri Gouranga Bhavana, seeking help from alumni and others for repairs.
An appeal by principal Swami Ekachittananda, posted on the social networking site, says the college wants to undertake the repairs, which will cost Rs 1.5 crore, during the one-and-a-half months left before the arrival of the new undergraduate batch.
The college had in April uploaded an appeal on its website asking for funds “because a number of edifices in the hostel are in pressing need of reconstruction”.
The principal said that since the previous appeal did not result in any “substantial response”, they took to Facebook and posted images of the dilapidated condition of Shri Gouranga Bhavana, one of the four hostels of the residential college.
“We have now posted images of the dilapidated infrastructure, which has worsened further over the past couple of months. We hope our prospective contributors will realise (the urgent need for funds),” said Swami Ekachittananda
A college official said they had to carry out urgent maintenance of the hostel building, failing which the upcoming batch of first-year students would find it difficult to stay on the campus.
The principal had earlier told The Telegraph that they had asked for contribution from the alumni and others because the earnings of the college had dipped during the pandemic as the hostel fees had been reduced.
Besides, support from funding agencies, including the UGC, has been on the wane over the past few years.
A section of the third-year students who used to stay at Shri Gouranga Bhavana will soon leave the hostel.
“The new first-year batch is expected to arrive by mid-August. We want to finish the repairs before that,” the principal said.
This newspaper had in December quoted the principal of Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira, Belur, as saying waning contributions from donors was affecting the college’s ability to provide economic assistance to underprivileged students.
The Narendrapur college had in April also appealed for funds to raise Rs 6 crore to buy an NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) for the chemistry department and construct high-end laboratories for the biological science department.
“We are now focusing on the immediate repair of Shri Gouranga Bhavana,” said Swami Ekachittananda.
