NE EDUCATION BUREAU
CHENNAI, JAN 17
Indian Institute of Technology Madras Alumnus Dr. Krishna Chivukula, Owner and Chairman, Board of Directors, INDO US MIM TEC Private Ltd has donated a sum of Rs. 5-crore for the renovation of hostels and augment existing maintenance facilities on the campus.
A release from the premier institute said that an initial sum of Rs. 2.5 crore has already been handed over to the Institute to renovate the Cauvery Hostel, which was the first-ever hostel to be constructed on the campus.
Hostels at IIT Madras campus are named after rivers. Its construction began in the year 1961. While the continued support of the Government is important to enabling providing well-maintained hostel accommodations to students, this one-time contribution will help elevate the hostels to world-class standards for the benefit of several generations of future students.
Two more hostels will be identified by the Institute for renovation. Dr. Krishna Chivukula presented the cheque to Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, in the presence of Prof. Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (International and Alumni Relations), IIT Madras, on January 8.
While thanking the donor for his generous contribution, Prof. Mahesh Panchagnula said, “Alumni-Giving at IIT Madras has made a huge difference to several key initiatives. We are very grateful to Dr. Chivukula who has come forward to support this very important requirement on our campus.”
This contribution, which was part of the Institute’s #KeepItFlowing campaign to support the hostels, will help the Institute to execute face-lift works in restrooms, including waterproofing, façade improvements in corridor and staircase, painting, shoe rack fixing, gardening, development of playfields, cycle parking and façade improvement at the main entrance, among others.
Expressing happiness at being able to contribute to the development of his Alma Mater, Dr. Krishna Chivukula, M.Tech [Aero], 1970 said, “IIT Madras gave me world-class education at literally ‘zero cost.’ This led to my being admitted to the Harvard Business School, which in turn led to my being successful in life. I am delighted to be able to give back to the Institution that was the root cause of my success. I sincerely urge my fellow IITians to experience the same joy that I experience”
Cauvery Hostel
Cauvery Hostel was constructed in 1961 with a capacity to accommodate 216 students in single occupancy. The hostel was expanded in 2002 to accommodate another 171 students. Since 2018, the rooms have been converted as double-occupancy rooms to accommodate around 750 students.
Speaking the impact of this donation and benefit for students, R. Aswanth, Student General Secretary, Cauvery Hostel, IIT Madras, said, “This funding will not only augment the facilities at Cauvery hostel but also to satisfy parents of hostellers. These funds will be used in improving all facilities along with the aesthetics of the hostel for creating a student-friendly healthy environment.”
The hostel building is around six decades old but still structurally sounds to cater to the present needs of students. However, due to aging it becomes necessary to augment the existing facilities in the hostel premises, a release from IIT-M said.
