As I am currently studying in IIT Patna, I consider myself capable of answering this question.
IIT Patna definitely has one of the best campuses in India. Well built infrastructure, facilities as diverse and handy as any other old IIT(not as large on scale though). And safety should not be a concern here. Also, IIT Patna has world class faculty for all the branches here, for B.Tech as well as M.Tech. Let’s go through this one by one.
SAFETY:
IIT Patna is a totally safe place. People have preconcieved notions about Patna(Bihar in general). But as far as I have seen nothing of this sort can be claimed or believed.
IIT Patna is situated in Bihta, approx. 35Kms from Patna city. It is a well guarded place, with top-notch security. Well eqiupped guards are posted on each gate of our college 24 hours. Also, there are guards in all hostels and important places like admin block, all departmental blocks, workshops, banks, hospitals, etc for all 24 hours. Students can freely roam around in the campus at any time of the day or the night. Near IIT Patna is a small town Bihta, which has a large market and 2-3 restaurants as well as a railway station. As it is small, the town becomes silent after around 7.30-8.00 p.m. But as we have been to the railway station at around 2.00-2.30 a.m.(to see off a friend whose train was at that time), I can say that it is not like we cannot venture out of the campus at night. It not as unsafe as stereotypical people claim it to be, even without visiting the place.
FACILITIES:
IIT Patna has world class facilities which IITians are worthy of. When you are in an IIT, you need not worry about facilities. Few of them can be listed as follows:
I. Academic
1) Classrooms – All classrooms are equipped with boards(chalk and marker), projector-screen systems and are airconditioned and well ventilated.
2) Library – IIT Patna has a huge library, with over 10000 books, journals, papers and various online resources.
3) Labs – All the labs, be it Physics Lab, Chemistry Lab, Material Sciences Labs, Computer Centre or Software Lab have top quality equipment.
4) Workshops – All workshops have machines in excellent condition, accessible to anyone in the college.
II. Infrastructural
1)Admin and other blocks – All the blocks are beautifully designed buildings structured very carefully for maximum convenience. We have an admin block, a tutorial block and blocks for various departments.
2)Sports Arenas – Grounds for cricket(with nets for practice) and football; and courts for badminton, lawn tennis, basketball and volleyball are already there. Along with that we also have table tennis tables in the hostel.
3)Canteen Area – There is a large canteen area behind the admin block. It consists of two canteens, an icecream shop, a stationery shop, an Indian Post Office, a bank, and a huge hall.
4)Workshops – All workshops are large able to contain diverse machinery.
5)Hospital – A large hospital with a doctor available all day, and basic amenities along with a pharmacy.
III. Hostels
1)Rooms – Rooms in the hostel are well ventilated and spacious enough for two people to stay, with racks, cupboard, table and chairs along with beds.
2)WiFi – WiFi speeds in IITs is always heard of. Things are no different here. WiFi speed is excellent here(sometimes goes upto 30 Mbps).
2)Mess – Two messes in the hostel are clean and large enough to seat half of the college.
3)Night Canteen – This facility is for the night owls. Night canteen just below the hostel in open upto 4 a.m. where you can have a late cup of coffee, or reimburse for the skipped dinner.
4)Gymnasium – Hostel also has a gymnasium with various machines and a variety of weights.
5)Washrooms and Water Coolers – Clean washrooms which are cleaned daily by the housekeeping staff, and water coolers providing fresh, cool water 24×7 are also present on every floor in every hostel block.
6)Common Room – Common with a television where cricket, football matches are watched with great enthusiasm. It also has an adjoining terrace. Here all the meetings are held and bands practice their music, dance club practices are conducted and student programmes are held like wall painting competitions and Counter Strike tournaments etc.
7)Washing Areas – Clean washing areas are provided for washing clothes. There are two of them, one equipped with automatic washing machines while the other with semi automatic washind machines. There are 10+ machines in each area.
8)Stationery and Laptop repair, Mobile recharge shop – This shop has basic stationery reqiured and mobile recharge, and laptop repair facility is also available here. Main stationery shop is in the canteen area, where basic snacks and toiletries are also available.
9) Parcel room – There is a parcel room where all the parcels from homes or online shopped products come and are preserved.
IV. Other
1)Sports Equipment – IIT Patna sports room is equipped with top conditioned sports equippment required for all the sports played here. Cricket kits, footballs, volleyballs, basketballs, racquets, etc. There are 2 sports rooms, one in the hostel and one near the cricket ground.
2)Banks – There are two banks in the campus just for the convenience of students and staff. One in the academic area(SBI) and one in the canteen area.
2)Canteens – There are two canteens in the canteen area along with an icecream parlour. All types of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes are available there.Icecream parlour is an authorized Amul parlour.
3)Utility Stores – Leaving the main stationery shop in the canteen area, and the store in the hostel, there are various utility stores in the campus. One near the girls hostel and a complex with 4-5 different shops near gate 2. You will never need to go outside the campus for utilities.
4)Basic shop area – There is an area near the boys hostel where there are 4 basic shops, namely, barber, cycle repair(also a vendor), fruits/juice shop and an egg shop.
5)Interconnectivity – The hostels, blocks, workshops, grounds, etc, are connected by excellent roads
which increase the beauty of the campus as well.
INFRASTRUCTURE:
Top class infrastructure gives the permanent campus of IIT Patna, it’s grandeur. The campus is well-planned. All the blocks, hostels and workshops are well designed. Labs are also spacious eqiupped with top class modern equipment. The interconnecting roads add to the beauty of the campus. On both sides of the road, there is greenery, throughout the campus.
Talking about sports infrastructure, almost all types of sports are played in IIT Patna. There is big cricket ground with the largest boundary approx. 75m with practice nets and lights near the nets for evening practice. A perfect sized football ground with proper goalposts is also there adjoining the cricket ground. Around both cricket and football grounds there are tracks for running. There are proper courts for volleyball, basketball, badminton(2) and lawn tennis. For table tennis there is a seperate room with TT tables.
The 550 acre campus is spacious and full of greenery admist the grand infrastructure and interconnecting roads. Protecting this campus is a tall wall with two secure gates with guards posted 24/7. Phase two of the construction at the campus is almost complete and phase three is soon to start.
The infrastructure at IIT Patna, is like what every IITian requires. The lifestyle at IIT Patna compliments the great faculty here. It has always been and always will be a privilege to be a student of IIT Patna and to stay in such a beautiful campus.