POKHARA: The Paschimanchal Campus (Western Region Campus), Institute of Engineering under the Tribhuvan University is to start classes on Rock and Tunnel Engineering course first time in the country.

The campus has published the admission schedule for the Master’s Degree program which aims to prepare skilled and technical engineering workforce in the respective filed.

It may be noted that development projects relating to underground construction works have failed to make a pace due to the shortage of required human resources.

Though the government in the current fiscal year introduced tunnel construction projects at different 12 places, no progress has been achieved yet due to such shortage. According to campus chief Ram Prasad Poudel, 20 seats were allotted for the first batch and the admission will be completed by April 3 to run classes from April 28.

Though the existing ‘Bachelor of Civil Engineering’ incorporates limited topics about tunnel engineering, this is not sufficient to meet the demand of the required workforce in the country. The new Master’s Degree program is expected to free the interesting ones from the compulsion of going abroad to pursue it.

The campus has the support of the Gandaki state government to launch the new course. The government in its policies and programs for the current fiscal year has allocated to Rs one million for the same. State government minister for physical infrastructure development Ramsharan Basent pledged the support in the future to run the classes.