The city’s stake for the proposed IIT for Karnataka got a leg-up with the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) offering some of its facilities to house the temporary campus of the premier national institute.
KSOU Vice-Chancellor M.G. Krishnan met district officials and Revenue Minister V. Srinivas Prasad, Mysuru MP Pratap Simha, and Chamarajanagar MP R. Dhruvanarayan, and made his submission to offer the science block for temporarily housing the IIT. His offer has evoked a positive response from them.
Deputy Commissioner C. Shikha had made a strong case for Mysuru as an ideal location for establishing IIT to members of the Site Selection Committee which was in the city on Thursday.
But the offer by KSOU to let out its facility for the temporary campus of the IIT is a shot in the arm for the city’s claims.
Prof. Krishnan said the science block, which was constructed at a cost of nearly Rs. 20 crore, is ready for utilisation.
The structure is built over 10,000 sq. m and has laboratory facilities as well.
While the independent campus of the proposed IITs will take shape over the years, a temporary campus with good facilities is a plus point. Mysuru MP Pratap Simha said connectivity was another factor which was impressed upon the visiting committee members. “We are sending photographs of the new facilities of KSOU along with a video to the site selection committee,” said Mr. Dhruvanarayan.
