Spooky rooms, broken desks, and crumbling walls:150-year-old Sanskrit College a virtual ruin with no students | Hindustan Times
The central government is aiming at reviving traditional languages, including Sanskrit, but the over 150- year-old Government Sanskrit Mahavidyalya in Patiala is in a virtual state of collapse. There are no chairs, tables in the scary, deserted rooms with broken doors and crumbling, decaying walls.
Running in the interiors of the royal city since 1860, the institute, which runs from a dilapidated building, already declared ‘unsafe’ by the public works department (PWD), suffers from shortage of teachers and lack of interest among students to opt for Sanskrit in higher studies.
Crumbling plaster, broken desks – nothing is left in the Govt Sanskrit College. (Bharat Bhushan/Hindustan Times)
The college has had zero admissions in the last two academic sessions, said Simrat Kaur, principal of Prof Gursewak Singh Government College of Physical Education, who holds the charge of the institute as a drawing and disbursing officer.
Despite the utter neglect of the college, nine students had taken admission here in 2013-14 in Sanskrit courses, four in 2014-15. Just one joined in the 2015-16 academic session. After that there have been no admissions, she added.
The building has been declared unsafe by the PWD. (Bharat Bhushan/Hindustan Times)
Lack of interest in Sanskrit has also led to the problem.
Earlier, the college had a staff strength of at least 25, including teachers and non-teaching staff. But, at present, only a clerk is handling all affairs of the institute.
The institute had also introduced courses in Punjabi and Hindi, Ratan, Bhushan and Prabhakar and Vidwan, Budhiman and Gyani, but these were discontinued later.
Hard to believe, but nine students had taken admission to the college in 2013-14 . (Bharat Bhushan/Hindustan Times)
“We have written to the PWD for renovation of the building on several occasions in the past, but have failed to get any response,” she added.
The PWD’s executive engineer Naveen Mittal said the college building has already been declared unsafe, but the department did not ever get any communication either from the college or the education department on its renovation.
Education minister Aruna Chaudhary said she was not aware of the condition of the college, but would look into the matter. “The department will provide all possible help to revive the institution, if its management sends a proposal for its revival,” she said.
