Kupwara, Sep 16: Sanctioned in 2011, the lone polytechnic to be set up in Karihama Kupwara still awaits completion.
An official said that after the then dispensation approved a Polytechnic to each district of Jammu and Kashmir, Kupwara did also get one.
“Soon after the approval, the polytechnic started functioning in a private building at Bumhama with two courses to offer – Diploma in Automobile Engineering and Diploma in Mechanical Engineering. He said that the construction of the buildings was taken in hand the same year at Karihama, Kupwara.
“An amount of Rs 19.35 crore was sanctioned for the construction of the two buildings including a multi-storey main building and workshop building which were to be completed within a couple of years,” the official said.
According to locals, the campus once completed would be beneficial for the students who are suffering due to lack of well-developed infrastructure.
They said that, presently, only two courses were being taught at the polytechnic which according to them was unfair with the students of Kupwara.
Locals said that the polytechnics approved in other districts are almost nearing completion but the work on Kupwara polytechnic had been left halfway due to reasons best known to the authorities.
The students studying here said that the proximity of the shopping complex to the polytechnic harms their studies.
They said that as the building was located adjacent to the Kupwara-Srinagar highway, the traffic chaos haunts them.
The students said that they were also suffering with regard to practical work.
“Lack of a well-equipped lab here has been a setback for the students,” a student said.
An official of the Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC) at Kupwara said that the buildings were to be completed by the end of March 2019.
He said that the dearth of funds had been the main cause of non-completion of the project.
The official said that the revised date for the completion of the project had been fixed as July 2022.
“Since the funds stand released, we are hopeful that the campus will be completed within the set deadline,” he said.