The Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad will be shifting to its new campus in August this year. There has, however, been mixed reactions and a few students will... well, miss the old building.
Aditya Aagare, a third-year student at IIT-Hyderabad, thinks that it will be a relief to have a new campus (at Kandi village, 20 kms from the current facility at Yeddumailaram, Medak district) all to themselves. “There would hardly be any restrictions. We would not be constantly asked for our IDs.” He is also excited about the fact that they would get rooms on a single-sharing basis.
There’s also a ‘Green Office’ at the Institute that’s making sure the new campus is lush with flora. In fact, research is currently on to determine the kind of plants that will find a place on the new campus.
The management has taken the help of Japanese architects to build the huge campus. The other interesting feature of the building is the radiant cooling technology, wherein the buildings will be kept cool all year round (a calm 260C)... regardless of the temperature outside.
Aditya is also confident that in another 10 years, the new campus will become the best IIT in India.
But Vishal Hirani, on the other hand, has a soft spot for the old building. “I have spent four years in the building and I think it has the best facilities. The only advantage will be the fact that the institute will have an address of its own.” He feels that the old building had all the advantages and the labs were good. The new building will have all that, but it will take some time before they are fully functional.
Media secretary of IIT-H, however, does not feel that way. Y.V. Sai Dheeraj feels that the new campus will be “home”. “Though the old campus was very well connected, the new building will give us a definite address. The new campus will have improved and latest technology. The building is made from cement and waste.” He too feels that by 2020, it will be one of the best campuses in India.
Dheeraj also agrees with Aditya that the cooling system is remarkable and that they will not have to bother about the heat. “The cooling system is unique and it will maintain the same temperature all year round. So we can forget about the cruel Hyderabad summers.”
The only problem is that there will be no greenery as of now and the student organisations are working overtime to plan a lush green campus sooner rather than later.
