BIT Mesra, Bitotsav 2020 experience.
I recently went to BIT Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand for their Bitotsav 2020. It is their annual cultural programme. In this article, I will discuss my whole experience of this fest, my whole journey, transportation, food and much more. I stayed there for two days, one night.
Birla Institute of Technology (also known as BIT Mesra) is an educational institution, situated in Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand. I took 18615 Kriya Yoga Express from Howrah railway Junction. It leaves at 10.10pm and arrives to Ranchi Junction at 7am. Now, this train is amazing. It is clean, convenient and very comfortable. Also it arrives at correct time. I really like the train. And there was police guard as well, so definitely a safe option for women.
BIT Mesra is far from Ranchi Junction. You will find auto and toto outside the railway station. They will demand high prices (approximately 300 bucks for each to go to BIT Campus directly). You won’t find any direct vehicle to BIT so either you have to book a whole auto for 300 bucks or use the cut-service.
Outside the Ranchi Station you will find toto as well. Ask them to drop you at ‘KANTA TOL’. They will take roughly 20-30 bucks. In auto or toto it takes about 30 mins from the station. From Kanta Tol you will get auto to BIT. They will take 20 bucks. It will take 45 mins.
You may not find direct auto from Kanta Tol to BIT. For that matter, they will drop you at the ‘BIT MORE’.
Now from BIT More, it is difficult to go to BIT Campus. The auto drivers (except few one) are extremely rude and arrogant. They won’t start their auto until it gets filled ( which takes hell lot of time; I wasted 1 hour…waiting to get filled). If you are lucky enough, you will get an auto from there, it will take 10-20 bucks and it takes 15-20 minutes.
If you are not lucky enough to get an auto (they won’t start until it is not filled completely). There are other ways to go to BIT. You have to ask for lift on bikes (it is a common practice there) or there are BIT Buses as well (but they are only a few). In total (from Ranchi jn. to BIT campus), it takes 1 hour 30 minutes or more.
BIT Campus is huge. It is nearly fifty years old. There are many trees within the campus. The girls’ and boys’ hostels are also the old ones. The security of the girls’ hostel is very tight. They won’t allow you to go anywhere else after 5.15pm and you have to come before 8pm. Now, if there is some event or cultural fest going on, even then also they won’t permit you to go on your own. There will be campus buses, they will collect all the girls from the hostels and drop at the venue. Now this sounds very safe and it is actually very safe but only 1 problem is there. They won’t allow you to return on your own as well. Yes! Till the function ends, you have to sit there and wait, they will collect all the girls and drop you at the hostel. This concept pretty sucks as on the inaugural night, there was no food, no water in the auditorium area and they even didn’t allow the girls to return. The programme ended at 12.05am!!!yes! And then they collected girls and dropped them near hostels. It was damn irritating and distressing.
BIT girls hostel rooms are pretty average! The hostel food is also average. The prices are pretty higher, compare to Bhubaneswar IIT. Breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner cost respectively 35, 45, 35, 65 bucks. The washrooms are pretty average. They charged 250 bucks for each night per head (1 mattress, 1 pillow, 1 bed cover). You have to pay extra 20 rupees for blanket per night per head. The pillow and the bed cover look like they are from hospitals (not kidding! They are white in colour!). I reached BIT on 13th morning (9.30am). They provided me the room at 5pm. Yes! Till that time I was waiting in a friend’s room. The guards of girls’ hostel were not even allowing me to stay in her room at the beginning as well.
According to me, BIT lacked the management. They didn’t have coordination. Student representatives were also clueless and they did not know themselves whom to contact.
On the inaugural night Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Mr. Hemant Soren came, who was also an alumni of BIT. The programme was lit. There was tribal dance, singing and a lot more fun stuffs. Mr. Soren himself was also fun loving person. He was very interactive with the students. On 14th I had my programme which started on correct time (I like it!). Though at the starting, organisers were pretty clueless but with time they sorted everything out.
