Banaras Hindu University Campus Area

BHU campus has over 60 hostels offering residential accommodation for over 12,000 students. On-campus housing is also available to a majority of the full-time faculty.

Banaras Hindu University is an internationally reputed institute situated in Varanasi. It has produced many great freedom fighters and builders of modern India and has immensely contributed to the progress of the nation through a large number of renowned scholars, artists, scientists and technologists, who have graced its portals. The area of the main campus of this premiere Central University is 1300 acres, with well-maintained roads, extensive greenery, a temple, an airstrip and buildings that are an architectural delight. 

The Air Field of the BHU campus was started for military training for flying during the second world war. Another campus of the university at Barkachha, Mirzapur covering an area of 2,700 acres is coming up. The university comprises 6 institutes, 144 departments, 4 inter-disciplinary centres, a constituent college for women and 3 constituent schools, spanning a vast range of subjects pertaining to all branches of humanities, social science, technology, medicine, science, fine arts and performing arts. The university provides a wide range of facilities for sports and hobbies, has large playgrounds, a big auditorium, a flying club and many auxiliary services and units like Printing Press, Publication Cell, Fruit Preservation Center, Subsidised Canteens, Employment and Information Bureau, Security etc.

Main Campus of Banaras Hindu University

BHU is located on the southern edge of Varanasi, near the banks of the river Ganges. Development of the main campus spread over 1,300 acres (5.3 sq km). The campus layout approximates a semicircle, with intersecting roads laid out along the radii or in arcs. Buildings built in the first half of the 20th century are fine examples of Indo-Gothic architecture.
The campus has over 60 hostels offering residential accommodation for over 12,000 students. On-campus housing is also available to a majority of the full-time faculty. The sayaji Rao Gaekwad Library is the main library on campus and houses over 1.3 million volumes as of 2011. In addition to the main library, there are three institute libraries, eight faculty libraries and over 25 departmental libraries available to students and staff.

Sir Sunderlal Hospital on the campus is a teaching hospital for the Institute of Medical Sciences. Established in 1926 with 96 beds, it has since been expanded to over 900 beds and is the largest tertiary referral hospital in the region.

Shri Vishwanath Mandir has the tallest temple tower in the world. The most prominent landmark is the Shri Vishwanath Mandir, located in the centre of the campus. The foundation for this 252 feet (77 m) high complex of seven temples was laid in March 1931 and took almost three decades to complete.

Bharat Kala Bhavan is an art and archaeological museum on campus. Established in January 1920, its first chairman was Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. The museum is best known for its collection of Indian paintings, but also includes archaeological artefacts, textiles and costumes, Indian philately as well as literary and archival materials.

Rajiv Gandhi South Campus of BHU

The south campus is located in Barkachha in the Mirzapur district about 60 km (37 mi) southwest of the main campus. Spread over an area of over 2,700 acres (11 sq km), it was transferred as a lease in perpetuity to BHU by the Bharat Mandal Trust in 1979.

It hosts the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Agricultural Science Centre), with a focus on research in agricultural techniques, agro-forestry and bio-diversity appropriate to the Vindhya Range region. The South Campus features a lecture complex, library, student hostels and faculty housing, besides administrative offices. The Banaras Hindu University has extended its outreach by establishing its South Campus. The RGSC is being developed as a potential hub for education, training and entrepreneurship for youth and women, especially those belonging to tribes and weaker sections of society.

The campus is being developed by the University with a mission to enrich the lives of the population of the region by extending to them opportunities to engage in lifelong learning and to benefit from the result of research.

About the Author

Abhijeet Singh is pursuing B.Tech in Computer Science from AIET Jaipur. He delves into various fields and believes to be a jack of all trades.

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha.