Seats in core engg. courses down, computer science sees a surge
The Hindu
66,290 engineering seats available compared to 69,116 last year
Core engineering branches saw a decline in number of seats in engineering colleges this year compared to last year with several colleges preferring to cut down the seats in favour of new and specialised courses in the computer science stream.
Several colleges reduced their seats even for a top course like electronics and communication engineering (ECE) that used to find favour with toppers five or six years ago. The seats have been reduced from 13,397 to 12,582 this year.
A similar trend was noted in other core branches like mechanical engineering, civil engineering and electrical engineering with even top colleges seeking permission for seat reduction in those branches.
Hampi, the UNESCO-recognised historical site, was the capital of the Vijayanagara empire from 1336 to 1565. Foreign travellers from Persia, Europe and other parts of the world have chronicled the wealth of the place and the unique cultural mores of this kingdom built on the banks of the Tungabhadra river. There are fine descriptions to be found of its temples, farms, markets and trading links, remnants of which one can see in the ruins now. The Literature, architecture of this era continue inspire awe.
Unfurling the zine handed to us at the start of the walk, we use brightly-coloured markers to draw squiggly cables across the page, starting from a sepia-toned vintage photograph of the telegraph office. Iz, who goes by the pronouns they/them, explains, “This building is still standing, though it shut down in 2013,” they say, pointing out that telegraphy, which started in Bengaluru in 1854, was an instrument of colonial power and control. “The British colonised lands via telegraph cables, something known as the All Red Line.”