If the IIT comes up at Isnapur, near the highly-polluted Patancheru then one can be sure that many of the faculty and students will be exposed to breathing problems and diseases like cancer. In fact, the new IIT would have been ideally suited near Shamirpet as the entire area is developing into an excellent eco-system. (Disclaimer - the author of this article nor any of his relatives have any real estate investments in the area).
The Shamirpet area has the ICICI knowledge park, Genome Valley, NALSAR University, BITS and the 2000-acre Jawahar IT park which will dwarf the IT units at Madhapur and Gachibowli. These institutions could have provided the perfect ambience and the new IIT could have seamlessly merged in.
Secondly, Arjun Singh did not concede IIT just because he loves the state. Far from it. Two things have dominated the thinking. The new IIT and its location will provide a handle for YSR to beat his separate state opponents. It has already pit Adilabad against Medak and even KCR doesn't know whom to back.
Secondly, the Union government has given an undertaking to the Supreme Court that it will create more seats in IITs, to offset the reduction in the number of seats due to the reservation of backward classes. This new IIT in Medak is part of that bigger game plan.
Before one gets into the pros and cons on the location of the new IIT, let us step back and look at how this prestigious clutch of institutions came about.
On the ground that West Bengal had the highest concentration of engineering industries, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, B C Roy persuaded Nehru to set up the country’s first IIT at Kharagpur. Poor Nehru, he must be ruing that decision if he looks at the industrial scenario in WB today.
Most of the earlier IITs had a foreign hand, with the Nehru and Krishna Menon duo persuading the Soviets in the pre-Cold War era to fund IIT Mumbai. The Americans did not want to be left behind and agreed to bankroll IIT Kanpur.
The Germans wanted the IIT at Bangalore, but were persuaded by then Education Minister, C Subramaniam to locate the new IIT next to the governor’s campus on land in Chennai, which was offered in a matter of minutes. (Mr YSR please note)
Apart from the four original IITs, the most of the later day locations of the IITs came up due to weaknesses of the political establishment. Rajiv Gandhi faced with a strident students movement in Assam buckled and conceded an IIT for Assam, which came up at Guwahati. It cost Rs 1,500 crore to set up the IIT in the back of nowhere.
Except IIT-Roorkee that was upgraded, all the six IITs were established as brand new IITs right from the scratch. According to the present estimates it will cost the government Rs 2,000 to 2,500 crore to set up a brand new IIT. Yes, that is how much the new IIT in Hyderabad is going to cost, assuming that the land comes free.
While all this is on, the GOAP grapples with the issue of securing about 3,000 acres of land that is required in one single location. To add to that, those who looked at Basara as the ideal choice for the new IIT, have upped the ante. Chukka Ramaiah, who has trained a number of raw hands into IIT class material, feels shortchanged. He and many others are challenging the state’s argument that the quality of infrastructure and international airport played a key role in locating the new IIT close to Hyderabad. The claim, that access to quality infrastructure swung the choice of the new IIT is true to a certain extent.
Modern IITs will succeed in attracting good quality faculty only if it’s located close to major city like Hyderabad. The faculty members in IITs have often complained that their spouses are not able to find work, or their children don’t get a chance to study in the top-of-the-line schools, if IITs are located in a remote location. Students too will opt for new IIT based on its faculty quality and quick access. Reaching Basara would have taken them at least three to four hours by train or road from Hyderabad. And setting up of an airport in Basara as proposed by Mr Ramaiah, will not make any economic sense for those airlines planning to fly in.
Meanwhile, students in Andhra and Rayalaseema have also begun their agitation to prevent the IIT from coming up in Medak. That cauldron of unrest is sponsored by politicians with regional interest is in no doubt.
Our honest question to all the people involved is a simple one: Is it not enough reason that an IIT is coming up in our state? Or do they want to scream and fight which will eventually frighten Arjun Singh and Co to take the IIT to some other state. That’s food for thought.
IITs in India:
- IIT Kharagpur 1951 (East);
- IIT Powai in 1958 (West)
- IIT Kanpur in 1959 (Central)
- IIT Madras in 1959 (South)
- IIT Delhi in 1961 (North)
- IIT Guwahati 1994
- IIT Roorkee in 2001
Write to us at vikram.apmedia@gmail.com
25 comments:
Dear Vikram,
At the end what matters is whether ours is an IIT state or a state that is lesser than Assam.
Whether it is right or wrong-- Chandra Babu promoted Madapur and benifits went to his men like Murali Mohan.
This is YSR's Time.
Through agitations, no one can influence Arjun Singh. He has clear agendas. He will not let down his Congress.
Dear Vikram,
You sound like a pessimist trying to locate a needle in your hairy chest.
Keeping aside your honest question and not disrespecting any region, I think you should try to read between the lines spoken by YSR the other day when he addressed the Assembly.
Had the selection of Isnapur not been a political decision, there would not have been so much hew and cry. If you have the patience and sources in the CM's office, they will tell you why Isnapur was selected?
Have you ever been to Basara? Had you explored the area, you too would have sounded apprehensive of Basara losing an IIT. An IIT at Basara would only strengthen the area's historical significance.
Mama.... Musaldi ganji kosamu ediste, Musalodu (-----) kosamu edisandanta! Ee sameta voorike raaledu. Basaralo IIT vunte chaala mandiki santoshanga vuntadi, kadupu nimputadi. Kaani, Isnapur la vaste nee lanti-naa lanti realtorlu baagu padataru. Neeku dammulunte Isnapur lo evari evariki enni ekarala bhoomi vundo list sampadinchu, nee mitrula tho kalisi. Nijam neeke telustundi.
The elected Govt. has every right to select a place for IIT. This is illogical to have an IIT near saraswati temple. Lets be honest. Its good to visit Basara once in a year. It's impossible to live there.
Setting up an IIT to uplift a backward area is senseless idea outright. All of us should strive to make this IIT a center of excellence and the best in the country. Quality faculty can easily be attracted if it is in Hyderabad as Vikram argued, there is no doubt about it. Students prefer institutions in cities rather than in remote areas like Basara. Setting up an airport as Ramaiah suggested does not make any economic sense. It is an emotional outburst and it seems Ramaiah is unnecessarily creating a scene and people are undue importance to him.
I'm from IIT Kanpur. And know how difficult for it to get new research benchs of several companies and retaining faculty as kanpur has no air connection nor good medical care (though lucknow is 60 km away) and away from city. Despite all this, it is only the spirit of few committed professors to always motivate students to keep it's ranking ahead.
We fellow friends ourselves have spoken many times, how we would be, had we chosen iitm or iitb.
I must admit that hyd or close to hyd is a much better choice than a remote area. The presence of temple doesn't bring extra added glamour to much coveted IIT.
Finding a pin in a haystack is easier than analyzing the logic/ motive. behind any political decision. Let us analyze the results. IIT in AP is a dream come true for all Telugus .The sole criterion in selecting the location should be promotion of Higher Technical education not development of backward areas. Trying to locate IIT at Basara, just because Saraswati temple is there ,in the name of developing backward area is not rational.
What an enlightened arguments over the IIT issue? Some say, elected government has every right to select the place. Another says, it is a dream come true. Let me put the record stright:
1.Setting up first IIT in the country was first offered to Andhra Pradesh. But, the then elected CM thought, it was no good to welcome it by giving hundreds of acres of land. That's how it went to Khargpur. This means, that the then CM committed a blunder by loosing it. Setting up IIT in AP is just getting what was once lost.
2.Political decisions without a foresight result in unforseen consequences: Example: The original plan of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant is altogether different than what is existing at present. Due to the politiking, on a fine day, the then PM, to satisfy everyone, broke it into three parts. One part of the manufacturing of the plant went to Tamilanadu. Second, what we see in Vizag. Third: another unit is supposed to take off in Karnataka.
The result: Both VSP and the TamilaNadu units went into red (due to adverse impact on the overall sustainable factors planned in the original set up)and again their survival turned dependent on political interference.And the Karantaka unit has not even come into existance till date.
3. Are you from IIT Kanpur? Without an air strip you can not survive? We can not attract good faculty? Then get lost, we don't need them. U know Subrhmanya Chandra Sekhar whom all of you call "our great man" because of his science background worked as a contract lecturer and took tutions.Yet, he never gave up his mission till the last date of his life.Got it?
Ramoji wants IIT at Basara. How can you talk different things?
"Setting up first IIT in the country was first offered to Andhra Pradesh. But, the then elected CM thought, it was no good to welcome it by giving hundreds of acres of land. That's how it went to Khargpur."
Dear Mr.Anonymous, very interesting/sweeping statement. AndhraPradesh was formed in 1956 ,Andhra state 1953, while IIT kharagpur was started in 1951.
What is the source of your information.Can you name it.
Anon, pls note that there aren't 2 many Chandrasekhars around. Faculty today certainly looks for good package deal. Even your famed man received the Nobel Prize as a US citizen.
Change the name of your blog to "appolitics" because you are writing very little about the media and writing too much of politics. Your writing style is good and you can easily take up a job in a newspaper as a political reporter.
I suppose the anonymous (11:20) poster was a frustated man with unfulfilled ambitions, who is spewing venom into dark.
Not all those who study at IIT Kanpur become nobel laurates or for that matter successful individuals.
I don't know whether India needs many subramanyam chandrasekhars, but definitely not sick fellows like you.
Decisions based on sentiment are invariably defective.
Good samaritans with misplaced zeal like Ramiah garu are more harmful than Wily Politicians.
I strongly feel setting up IIT at Basar do not bring development and infact it will add more pollution to the Godavari river bed. I studied MCA in Nizamabad and we had hard time getting the right staff to teach there. No good staff and no intelligent students go there unless they have good access to city and infrasturcute. I know few US professors and intelectuals who teach in Indian universities on regular basis. They prefer to stay in metros. Let us dont link this issue with development of a place virtually have no natural resouces in terms of raw material for industrialization and no huge industrialization except water. It is unforutunate that people like Ramaiah also stooped to such low level to make this issue more worse. He must ask one question to his students, how many of them go to IIT Basar. IF he can get 10% (from all his old alumni and current), he should make a point. Otherwise I request him to keep quiet.
Aa area lo industrial and economic development to cater IIT and to bring to other IITs speed tevadam ela vundi ante.. Kondanu tavvi elakanu pattinatlu vundi.
YSR Says IIT will NOT come in Basara because of infrastructure problems the lace has. Wonder what the hell were succcesive govts, MPs , MLA s of the place were doing..
Looks like this decision ( rather reiteration by govt ) about IIT in Medak will see new round of politicking
Ramamohan
While setting up IITs had come up during the Nehru’s time, one proposal was to locate an IIT at the centre of the country. Hyderabad was considered as a suitable place to locate it. In precise, this is what I said when I mentioned that the first IIT was offered to AP. But there was no response from Composite State/Visalandhra/Andhr state/Andhra Pradesh or whatever name you call it. Thanks for correcting. From next time, I will take care of the time line and date line. If you want to know exactly the truth, please ask Roy or Nehru.
Who said that the glories of IITs are due to large tracts of lands and huge buildings and we don’t need good faculty. Good faculty is a back bone not only for IITs but also to an elementary school. When I said “get last”, what all that I condemned was that attitude of “spend tax payer’s money to get my MBBS degree. But I will not go to rural areas to treat. What if the Rs 2500 crores or more needed to set up an IIT comes from the tax payer’s sweat and blood? I am an intelligent walla, so it is my due to get it, and I don’t stay anywhere other than in metro cities (i.e., Intellectual Bureaucrats). Hope I made it clear. After all, it was those bright brains that went and stayed in the staff quarters of a jail/detention camp, located on a forest land, made and shaped the IIT Khargpur. Is in it?
Come on, why do you take pain of even that one hour drive from the city my friend?, ask the governor of AP to vacate and occupy Raj Bhavan, so that we can have an IIT right in the heart of the city. Is it not a good proposal! After all you are elite strata in the higher technical education field in the modern education-caste system.
On the one hand, you claim that the creativity and happenings in the field of science and technology are wiping out the boundaries of the nation states. And the entire globe is turning into a tiny village. When the intelligence and creativity could make such great things happen, can’t we make just an IIT happen…in a place… that’s just 500 kms or less from a city?
You sound like a journo, when you said the “story on hand”. Firstly, I am not a story teller but only a land tiller with just a B.Sc agri degree in my hand. Industries and educational institutions like IITs should be free from all kinds of political considerations. This alone could really make them happening places and contribute either to the filed of knowledge or to the nation. It is in this context I referred to VSP.
Who said faculty should not be given good packages? If IIT Kanpur wallas are getting a lakh, a month, give two lakh to the IIT H or IIT Basara faculty members. No one in this state or else where in the country ever said starve the teachers and extract work from them. Sure, Prof. Sekhar got Noble Prize as a US citizen. But, not much before going through too many humiliations as a person and as a professional, because he was just a brown skin walla. And, my dear, such things happen, because we don’t have gutts to give space to such people here and make such roses bloom every where in this country.
IIT K/IITC/IITD or whatever, the country men have given the best possible and they could afford, to the students and faculty. To become noble laureates or successful individuals it’s their business. No one ever asked we gave this to you and in turn you give this to us. You say Ur from IITK. Yet happen to be a doubting Thomas about weather we need Sekhars or not!
Cool….Cool……. “Frustrated man”, “unfulfilled ambitions” “spewing venom into dark”
“Sick fellow”- ask a psycholinguist or consult a psychiatrist, to know, what could be the state of mind, when one takes pleasure in using such words. Take care of Ur health… after all you are from IIT K …on whom tax payers made much investment…and u ...have a bright future…too….
Anonymous (7:21 pm)
I assume that it has become a personal flaming and sorry for it. I've not followed this thread.
My contention is all the while remained the same that a developed infrastructure gives a boost to IIT, be it in Hyd or Vijaz, but not a naxallite prone backward area like Basara. And all contentions like set up an airport, building rail network etc are not feasible at Basara.
Yes, I accept ex-chequers money has got into my education, and it would have deprieved few hundred kids of their primary education. But at the end of the day, I also have to make a living before I can do any bit, I only wonder in this materialistic world, if at all people turn introspective.
Think much is being made about motives, petty politics, personalites and short-term infrastructural needs in discussing whether to locate IIT in Basara or Greater Hyderabad.
Looking back at IIT Kanpur or Kharagpur, we can certainly say that what's needed to establish a quality institution is more than mere airports and buildings.
As far as the day to day operations are concerned, most of the IIT's are built to be self-sufficient. Typically a Kendriya Vidalaya, functional and competent health care center and campus residential facilities are part of the institute establishment. As a matter of fact, for many professors and researchers this sense of self-sufficient community and security were an attraction to join
these.
Coming to the concerns about the viability, sustainability and the growth of the institution itself and from the perspective of being
attractive and useful enough for the faculty and students - would like to point to the example of IIT, Kanpur and IIT Kharagpur. For a long time, from 60s to late 80s, IIT Kanpur was considered the best in CS and IIT Kharagpur in ECE.
And the best students and researchers use to prefer them over the ones located in Bombay or Madras. And the industries and students didn't find the remoteness, travel time to be big problems.
There is more to an institutional reputation, quality and industrial interaction than location and mere proximity to industrial centers.
On this issue the deciding factor is whether the institute, regardless of location, and the industries see a mutual benefit in interfacing and interacting.
Moreover in the current day and time, with enough internet
connectivity, think industrial interaction is not going to greatly
limited by the physical distance.
And also wrt to locating IIT in Greater Hyderabad there are already several similar national and state technical institutions - IIIT, Central University, the new and upcoming BITS etc. Furthermore, there are several international private universities (like GeorgiaTech etc.), much more influenced by the purchasing power and business prospects, eager to establish primarily in urban areas.
And more importantly, many here seem to be ignoring the fact that many technological institutes in the nation today seem to be urban-centric and too focussed on first-world technological problems.
And today there is an urgent need for technological institutes and labs to focus on the needs of rural India - agriculture, water management, public health, traditional knowledge management etc.;
and as a principle, a larger society committed to establish in
under-served regions and not to crowd all of them in mega-cities.
In here it's equally worthwhile to note that one of the explicitly
stated objectives of the National Knowledge Commission -
the technical body recommending newer IIT's - is to "facilitate
knowledge application in sectors like health, agriculture, and industry".
(http://knowledgecommission.gov.in/documents/default.asp - NKC Presentation to PM).
It's not like this is something radically new and hasn't been done done before or elsewhere. There are several examples from developed countries itself - where institutions were built in remote places. For example, within US, there is a culture of
establishing universities (Yale, Texas A&M, Urbana-Champaign, Wisconsin, Iowa, Cornell etc.) in smaller towns to develop necessary technologies to make of and exploit local resources.
And over time, they have become reputable institutions.
And there is a need to appreciate the larger role the premier institutes have to and can play in nation-building. At an institutional level, today prestigious institutions such as IITs, IIMs have matured and their charter has evolved far and beyond
undergraduate and graduate teaching. Some of the things they do are:
a) Provide technological expertise to the public and private
industry.
b)Serve as the incubation and and innovation centers to develop
newer technologies.
c) Inspire, mentor and nurture smaller engineering
institutions in and around.
So, given the right natural and physical resources - there is lot IIT system to be instrumental in
developing local economies for several decades to come. From that
perspective, think of the immense value the institutes are capable
of bringing to a backward region.
From this larger perspective, IIT in Basara certainly looks like a progressive option.
On the otherside, if we have to consider the associated risks - given that the technical experts committee has found the infrastructure in Basara to be quite adequate; and upon whose recommendation, the state govt. has unanimously passed resolution twice in favor of Basara; and at the end of the day we are talking about just being 3-hrs away from a mega-city; and over the last ten years, the State govt. has already invested several crores to improve the infrastructure and
transportation needs; and there is going an international airport within 70 kms. from Basara.
- I see a minimal risk and immense benefit potential in locating the IIT in Basara.
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