Delay cripples Pettigrew College
Source: The Sangai Express / Mungchan Zimik

Ukhrul, September 11 2025: The delay in construction of the academic block and main gate of Pettigrew College at Meizailung, Ukhrul, along with substandard work quality in the hostels have significantly disrupted normal classes at the college.

A joint team of Ukhrul CSOs comprising All Hunphun Tang Association (AHTA), Hunphun Katamnao Long ( HKL) and college authority inspected the under construction academic block and the two hostels (boys and girls) of the college today.

It was found that there is an acute shortage of classrooms at the college.

To prevent disruption to the academic year, students are attending classes at makeshift rooms and the incomplete academic block.

Delay cripples Pettigrew College

The construction work, which started in early 2022 with an expected completion date of 2023 within 18 months, has been delayed by over two years, severely impacting students' academic career.

The project is being executed under Manipur Minorities and OBC Economic Development Society (MOBEDS), at the estimated cost of Rs 14, 98,15, 250 (Fourteen crore, ninety eight lakh, fifteen thousand two hundred and fifty) .

AHTA president Chonmi Raleng highlighted several unfinished aspects of the college buildings and halls, including the absence of ceilings, unlaid tiles, incomplete toilets, partial electrification, and a lack of elevated seating.

The students are in a pitiful condition without adequate classrooms and the same is deprivation of their right to education, Chonmi stated.

While the ongoing construction of hostels for both boys and girls is not entirely satisfactory, the buildings are leaking and the painting was done without first plastering the walls, he said and added that each hostel should have 100 rooms, however, only 75 rooms including the toilets were constructed in each.

The estimated cost for constructing the hostels exceeds Rs 7 crore each.

He asserted that the sheer negligence of the contractor should be dealt with seriously to ensure that the quality of work is not compromised.

Chonmi further mentioned that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Ukhrul's civil society organizations (CSOs) and the contractor for the academic block construction, stipulating completion of the work by April 2025 .

Saying that the Executive Engineer of the Minor Irrigation and Power Engineering Department (MOPED) had also assured that the academic block would be completed by August 2025 during a district-level DISHA meeting held in July 2025, he added that all these assurances and the MoU have proven meaningless, betraying the people of Ukhrul.

Meanwhile, Dr Ringkahao Horam, Principal of Pettigrew College, expressed concerns over the hardships faced by the institution in its management.

With over 1,100 students enrolled, the college has introduced honours courses but continues to operate amid a shortage of teaching faculty and inadequate classrooms.

The Ukhrul civil society organizations (CSOs) urged higher authorities to conduct a spot inspection to verify work quality and rectify any deficiencies based on the project's technical sanctions, in order to maintain the required standards.