‘Uttarakhand to soon have India’s biggest Science City’

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand will soon have India’s biggest Science City, which is likely to be set up on the city outskirts close to the Vigyan Dham, science and technology secretary Ravinath Raman said.

The Vigyan Dham has on its campus the administrative office of the Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology (Ucost) and the Regional Science Centre.

“The purpose of the proposed state-of-the-art Science City is to develop scientific temper among children and youth and motivate them to come up with technical and scientific innovations,” Raman told Hindustan Times. “It will be the biggest Science City in the country.”

The proposed Science City will be equipped with a world- class convention centre, a science incubation centre, innovation hubs, and a planetarium. “The auditorium will be equipped with IMAX, which is a state-of-the-art projection technology.”

The project will come up on a sprawling 5.2 hectares of area close to the Ucost campus, for which land is being identified. “As per the norms, a total of 10 hectare of land is a must for a science city project,” Raman said.

“Investments of up to Rs 350 crore are expected for the mega Science City project,” Raman said, adding it would also help encourage research among the budding scientists across the state.