By Our Staff Reporter
Roorkee, 13 Oct: Union Minister for Education Ramesh Pokhiyal ‘Nishank’ today inaugurated, online, the new Lecture Hall Complex (LHC), Centralised Heating, Ventilation, Air conditioning (HVAC) and a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee.
Minister of State for Education Sanjay Dhotre was also present. The online ceremony also witnessed the presence of Prof Ajit K Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee, Prof Manoranjan Parida, Deputy Director, IIT Roorkee, Deans, Associate Deans, Departments/Centres Heads, Professor in Charge, Registrar, Joint Registrar, and Deputy Registrar.
The Minister said that IIT Roorkee is the pride of India and among the oldest technical institutions in Asia. IIT Roorkee has set a benchmark in excellence in academics and is actively contributing to the cause of building ‘New India’ as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As IIT Roorkee is based in the Himalayan region that is endowed with biodiversity, the Minister urged IIT Roorkee to come up with viable solutions to reduce human-animal conflict and contribute to scientific social responsibility.
He highlighted that the New Education Policy -2020 has presented a new framework for intellectual development of the youth. The government had made a great effort to bring significant changes in the education system keeping in mind the rapidly changing world and future challenges and needs. He hoped that implementation of NEP- 2020 would strengthen the students and provide a path to make India a developed, digital and self-reliant country.
While addressing the participants, Dhotre said Infrastructure is a key enabler in enhancing the quality of education. The three new projects- Lecture Hall Complex (LHC), Centralised Heating, Ventilation, Air conditioning (HVAC) and Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) would upgrade the infrastructure in tune with requirements over time and bring them at par with global standards.
The construction of the Lecture Hall Complex (LHC) started in 2016 and costs about Rs 80.25 cores. With a total capacity of 4400 persons, it comprises seven classrooms with capacity to accommodate 250 persons, each, 11 classrooms with a seating capacity of 150 persons, each, and 24 classrooms that can accommodate the strength of 24 students.
Centralised heating, ventilation, air conditioning system (HVAC) caters to three buildings viz. Lecture Hall Complex-I & II and Convocation Hall with Chilled Water Cooling technology. The project cost is estimated at around Rs 14.35 crores. The highlight of this project is the control through remote mode via the Building Management System (BMS) and its design for ensuring capacity optimisation as well as energy efficiency through the latest technology.
A sewage treatment plant with a capacity of 3 MLD is located at Solani Kunj near the C-class club at the IIT Roorkee campus. The plant has a built-up area of 1800.00 sq.m, and its estimated construction cost is Rs 27.73 crores. The STP uses the Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) process. The unique feature of IIT Roorkee STP is the additional odour control and advanced tertiary treatment facility due to its settling in the residential area.
Prof. Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee, expressed his gratitude to Minister of Education and MoS for Education for inaugurating the three important projects of the institute.
