Trichandra College and Ghantaghar to be renovated

Trichandra College was established in 1918 during the reign of Rana Prime Minister Chandra Shamsher. It is the oldest college in Nepal.

The college building does not look like an educational institution as they have cracks almost everywhere, untamed grass on the ground, plants growing in between the walls of the building, stinky and unhygienic toilets, unmanaged classrooms, and messed up notice boards, and many more problems.

The rainwater used to seep into the campus.

The students, teachers, and staffs of Tri-Chandra College are at risk as the building was constructed in 1918, was badly hit by the 2015 earthquake, and has never been renovated.

The 104-year-old Tri-Chandra College has a long history of providing education. The people who are currently in power were also once the students at the college. Prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba himself studied at Trichandra Campus.

The college has produced a number of high-profile figures. But the status of the college nowadays is pathetic. 

The nation’s oldest college has three buildings. The building that shares the compound with the historic Ghantaghar (the clock tower) is highly affected due to the 2015 earthquake. Back then, the building also got a red sticker from the government, recognizing it as a high-risk zone.

Other damaged structures near the oldest college - Ranipokhari and Durbar High School - had already been reconstructed but Trichandra College is not in priority even seven years after the earthquake.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has instructed the authorities to initiate reconstruction of the college by allocating the required budget. 

The PM on Sunday had called Minister for Education, Science and Technology Devendra Paudel, Chief Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi, Vice Chancellor of Tribhuvan University Dr. Dharmakanta Baskota, Finance Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini, and others and instructed them to immediately begin reconstruction work of the Trichandra Campus.

As a result, its clock tower (Ghantaghar) is all set to be retrofitted in its original shape to reflect its historical significance. 

Central Level Project Implementation Unit (CLPIU), Department of Urban Development and Building Construction, Ministry of Urban Development have allocated Rs. 500 million for the projects.

Kosh Nath Adhikari, project director of CLPIU, said that the Ministry of Finance has approved the resource management proposal of the office, and now the consultant agency has been working to redesign the structure prepared three years ago. 

Initially, Rs. 500 million was estimated for this project but it will complete in less than the estimated budget, he said.

It will take around two years to complete the project because it needs to use traditional materials, and needs to find skillful workers, who are not easily found, he added.

Adhikari said that they would call a tender for the project after completing all the processes. 

In the fiscal year 2021/22, the government had also planned to rebuild the college. 

Former Finance Minister Janardan Sharma had also announced plans to renovate Trichandra College and Ghantaghar but it was not implemented. 

Now it is yet to see whether the oldest campus will be renovated or not.