First government engineering college in South Orissa starts functioning near Berhampur

Parala Maharaja Engineering College (PMEC), the first government engineering college in South Orissa started functioning at its own building at Sitalapalli on the outskirts of Berhampur city.

This institute has been named in memory of the royal family of Paralakhemundi, which played a major role in the formation of modern Orissa state on linguistic basis. The Orissa Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik had laid the foundation stone for the institute in July 2008.

The institute has initially started courses in four faculties. Three of them are traditional core sectors, which are being neglected by the private technical institutes.

The PMEC has student intake capacity of 60 each for electrical, mechanical, civil, computer science engineering departments.

All seats were filled up and the classes commenced from Thursday.

Speaking to The Hindu, the principal incharge of the PMEC, L.K.Mohapatra said this institute would come up on an area of around 85 acres. The classes have started in the newly constructed administrative block of the institute.

The administration has already alienated 10 acres of land for the institute on which construction work is in progress.

Government had already sanctioned more than Rs. 6.5 crore for the purpose.

Process was on for the handing over of rest land to the institute soon. For the time being the theory classes of the PMEC would be held in its own campus.

But the practical classes would be conducted in the laboratories of the government-managed UCP engineering school in the city.

Selection process


The BPUT has started selection process for the permanent staff of the institute. For the interim period 11 teachers had been taken in on contractual basis, said Mr. Mohapatra.

To arrange accommodation for the students and faculty of the institute, the BPUT has signed an MoU with the Berhampur University.

Twenty seven unused quarters in the Berhampur University campus and a vacant working women’s hostel would be used by PMEC for two years to house its staff and students till the hostels and staff quarters of the institute get constructed.
Source: The Hindu