Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Thirty-three years after it was founded, the Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication in the city, will start functioning from its own premises from Monday. The university has moved from its present premises in MP Nagar to the new one at Bishan Khedi.
“It is a historic day for us. It is a milestone in the history of the university. There is a palpable excitement among the teachers, the officials and the students,” Professor K.G. Suresh, vice-chancellor of the university, told the Free Press.
MCU VC Professor K.G. Suresh | File
In its initial years, the university functioned from the 74 bungalows. It later moved to a rented accommodation in Trilanga and then at 7 number bus stop before buying the present building in the Press Complex, MP Nagar Zone I, in 2006.
“The new premises are not only our own but has been designed and constructed for us,” the VC said.
Spread over an area of 50 acres, the new premises have ample open and green spaces. Over 60% of the area has parks, gardens, football and cricket grounds with two academic and one administrative blocks, hostels for boys and girls and accommodation for VC and teaching and non-teaching staff, besides a library, meditation centre covering the remaining 40% area.
The university has the biggest library on media in India | FP Photo
The construction took six years and Rs 160 crore to complete. The construction work was done at snail’s pace, with Covid-19 pandemic delaying the completion by one year. Six VCs had come and gone but the construction, which began in 2016, could not be completed.
The two academic blocks on the new premises have been named Takshila and Vikramshila. They have three 120-seater and 13 60-seater smart classrooms, equipped with projectors, smart boards and LED screens. All the departments have separate meeting halls and libraries.
800 seater auditorium of the university | FP Photo
There is also a 110-seater conference room in the administrative block with a state-of-the-art PA system and LED screen.
There is also a gym, club and swimming pool for the teaching and administrative staff. The girls and boys hostels have been named Narmada and Babasaheb Ambedkar respectively and have accommodation for 150 students each. Both the hostels have separate messes.
The new premises also have a canteen, a first aid room and a small shopping complex. There is also a 40-seater ‘Transit Hostel’ for PhD scholars of the university and of other universities where they would be able to stay during their visits to the campus. It also has a ‘Patrakar Cafe’ where journalists from the city will be able to chat and unwind.
New campus of the university also has a meditation centre | FP Photo
800-seater auditorium
The 800-seater Ganesh Chandra Vidyarthi Auditorium on the new premises is one of the finest in the city. Attached to it is the Tansen Amphitheatre, built in Greco-Roman style which can accommodate 450 students.
Biggest library on media in India
The university’s library, named after Nalanda, the ancient seat of learning in India, has around 41,000 books on media, making it the biggest collection of books on this topic. The first floor of the library will house ‘Newseum’, a museum on the history of media in India, named after Pandit Jugal Kishore Shukla, the editor of the first Hindi newspaper of the country.
Meditation centre to bust stress
The VC said that in view of the growing stress-related suicides in educational institutions in the country, the new premise has a Sandipani Meditation Centre located amid sylvan surroundings. It will have no religious symbols and the students will be able to sit and relax.
