Nuclear and radiation lab building at Institute of Science to be demolished

Demolition of the now defunct laboratory of great historical reference will make space for the new Dr Homi Bhabha State University.

State’s higher and technical education department issued a Government Resolution (GR), last week, declaring the decision. It also approved the budgetary allocation of Rs 20 crore for construction of the new building.

According to the information shared by Vice Chancellor (VC) of the Dr. Homi Bhabha State University Dr. Rajanish Kamat the new building will be a five-floor structure and will house multiple laboratories meeting the new age research requirements in science along with other sections aimed at enhancing international collaborations in research.

He said, “The building of the Institute of Science, which was started in British ruled India as the Royal Institute of Science in 1920, is now declared a heritage structure. Considering this is going to be the headquarters for the new Dr. Homi Bhabha State University, new structural arrangements are required. As the heritage structure has to be maintained as it is, another structure adjacent to it is now going to be demolished to construct a new building.”

The new building, as Dr. Kamat shared, is planned to match the heritage structure of the institute.

This is ground plus one floor structure which housed the nuclear and radiation laboratory.

“It still has a radioactive source which has been shielded for many years. However, considering that a thorough procedure has to be followed to dissolve it, we are requesting help from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) which was originally started at the Institute of Science. The nuclear and radiation laboratory was started then. Even after the BARC shifted its base to a dedicated laboratory, the research work continued at the Institute of Science. However as work began on alternative sources of energy, this research started taking a backseat and the laboratory eventually remained unused for many years,” Dr. Kamat said.