Two engineering colleges with Nav Nirman Andolan history to be restored

Among 16 government engineering colleges in the state, LDCE, which was established in 1948, and LEC, built around 1881, are being restored as heritage structures at a cost of Rs 5 crore each. Higher and Technical Education Minister Rushikesh Patel shared this information in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday while responding to a starred question raised by BJP’s Porbandar MLA Arjun Modhwadia.

Patel said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mantra of “Virasat Bhi, Vikas Bhi”, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has taken an important decision to maintain the heritage structure of colleges that are 75 years old or more in the state.

“The state government has made a provision of Rs 10 crore for heritage restoration of these two colleges of archaeological importance,” he added.

The minister assured that other institutions of archaeological importance in the state, which are more than 75 years old, will also be included to ensure that their heritage importance is maintained.

The LEC was established with a view to cater to the needs of technical education in Saurashtra; it was called Morbi Technical Institute (MIT) at that time. The Nazarbagh Palace building at LEC was built around 1881 on 41 acres of land. Three palaces and other buildings were gifted to the government by the Maharaja Thakor of Morbi State, Sir Lukhdhirji Waghji Sahib Bahadur, in 1951 for educational purposes.

Thus, MIT was renamed after him and in the later years, was upgraded to its present state as an engineering college, giving it the name Lukhdhirji Engineering College (LEC).

The campus, located on the banks of river Machhu, is divided into clusters of buildings. While Nazarbag palace became the college, other two palaces became student accommodation and the principal’s private residence, respectively. The fourth palace was retained by the Maharaja as his personal residence.

Officials at the technical education department told The Indian Express that the building was severely damaged in the Machhu dam disaster in 1979 and was later repaired. After that, due to the earthquake in 2001 and a fire, the old building suffered structural damages. Following this, the Road and Building Department of Morbi declared the building dangerous in 2013 and directed that its usage be stopped.

“The Road and Building Department has constructed a total of five new buildings on the new campus due to the unusable condition of the buildings on the old campus. Thus, considering the historical importance of the institution, the restoration of the heritage buildings is going to be done in coordination with the office of the Road and Building Department,” the official stated.

A tender has been issued by the office of the Roads and Buildings Department, attached to the college in Morbi, to invite proposals for providing heritage consultancy services such as architectural, structural and map interior design for the restoration and rehabilitation of the institution. The last date for submission of bids is March 15, 2025.

On the restoration of LDCE, Principal N N Bhuptani told The Indian Express, “The platinum jubilee of the institution was celebrated in 2023. In the centenary vision, a plan has been proposed to carry out beautification and restoration at the institution. Under this, restoration of various heritage buildings at L D College of Engineering was planned to be undertaken in 2024-25. The Mechanical Engineering Department, Electrical Engineering Department, Civil Drawing Hall, Mechanical Drawing Hall and Workshop at the institute are 75 years old. To preserve its heritage, these buildings will be restored for which a grant of Rs 5 crore has been allocated to the institute.”