Mangaluru: The future of 530 students at the Govt First Grade College for Women in Puttur hangs in the balance as they have been told to vacate the campus by the end of Dec, 2025.The college, which has been functioning from the old taluk office building since 2017, must now make way for the taluk hospital. With the construction of a new college building at Bolwar far from complete, students do not have a ready facility to move into. This uncertainty has created significant challenges, particularly for those from the economically weaker sections, whose academic future is now staring at grave uncertainty. Vedashri Nidya, the college principal, said a team of officers had recently visited the campus and informed them that the existing building, where classes are being held, would be demolished to make way for the hospital. As a result, the college must be vacated by the end of the year. She pointed out that construction of the new campus at Bolwar has made little progress, even though the deadline for completion had lapsed this July. The new college campus was sanctioned on 1.53 acres of land, and the foundation stone-laying was done in March 2023 for the Rs 8 crore project, execution of which was being overseen by Karnataka Housing Board. “We recently met local MLA Ashok Kumar Rai and requested him to provide a solution,” Vedashri said. Students said classes are being conducted in makeshift facilities, with inadequate infrastructure. They pointed out that there is no dedicated sickroom for students, with only 10 washrooms available on the entire campus. Puttur MLA Ashok Kumar Rai said he had told the contractor to expedite the work and complete it at the earliest.
