Lucknow, Dec. 13 -- A planetarium and a central mess, which in their full glory kept buzzing with students, are gathering dust at the Lucknow University, even as the university splurges on infrastructure upgrade. The planetarium, near the department of mathematics and astronomy, is one of the earliest university-based planetariums in India. The planetarium was built as an academic and training facility to strengthen Astronomy education through experiential, visual sky-simulation learning. The construction was completed in 1949, and it housed a rare SPITZ Model A1 star projector, purchased by the University in 1946. The cost of the projector was $500 when purchased after which LU was among the first in India to formally introduce B.Sc. Astronomy, and the planetarium served as an important teaching tool for demonstration of celestial coordinate systems, celestial sphere, planetary motion, star identification, seasonal sky changes, and visual demonstrations of astronomical concepts. During the 72nd Indian Science Congress (1985), special sky-simulation shows were held in the LU Planetarium demonstrating motions of the celestial sphere. From the late 80s onward, the planetarium began to suffer because of outdated technology, lack of maintenance, budgetary constraints, declining student utilisation, lack of faculty and upgrade. Even though an MoU was signed by the university with Vratino Planetarium Technologies - an Indian Planetarium manufacturing company - to modernise it in 2023, the doors of the building continue to remain closed till date. When asked, the head of department could not provide a satisfactory reply about when the facility would be reopened. Similarly, the central mess constructed in 2017 at a cost of approximately Rs 4 crore is also closed for four years. The building has a capacity of 200 students. Due to lack of use, it now lies in a dilapidated state with bushes growing throughout the building complex, and mould growing on the walls. A student leader associated with National Student Union of India (NSUI) Vishal Singh said that optimum use of these facilities should be ensured. "The university must get the planetarium opened at the earliest while the central mess should be renovated and re-used as a hostel library as it will provide hostellers access to the library even in the evening and night. When central and premier institutes can have both a functional planetarium and hostel library why can't LU make proper arrangements for the same," said Singh. Prince Kumar, a student associated with Samajwadi Chatrasabha also said that the resources of the university are now biting dust. "Resources should be properly utilised and if required measures should be taken for optimal use of these facilities," said Kumar. Lucknow University Teachers' Association vice president, Syed Arshad Ali Jafri said that when the university already had a vacant building why did it opt for the construction of a new building for evaluation. "In times when the university is undergoing losses, if the building was re-used it would have saved some significant amount of money. It seems like a case of corruption and the move must be investigated," said Jafri. Dean, students welfare, VK Sharma, said, "The central mess building is not in a good state. The cleaning process of the building has begun. We will have to get it maintained further and then plan how best to re-use the building." He said that the central mess was initially constructed so that students from all hostels can have their meals together. While the central mess was functional, all other hostel messes were closed. However, at the time of the pandemic, several students began eating for free and creating a ruckus while not following rules and regulations, which led to its closing....