Mangaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated three hostels — namely Brahmagiri, Shiwalik, and Godavari — at the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) in Surathkal on Tuesday from the new campus of Indian Institute of Management at Jammu. The hostels were built at a cost of Rs 132 crore.
The PM had inaugurated 13,300 crore projects across 37 centrally funded higher education institutions, 44 school educational institutions, and two skill education institutions.
At NITK, the PM dedicated Godavari, a girl’s hostel having 212 rooms with double occupancy constructed at a cost of Rs 37.88 crore, Brahmagiri (boys hostel) with single occupancy having 500 rooms built at a cost of Rs 51.14 crore and Shiwalik (boys hostel) with triple occupancy having 200 rooms built at a cost of Rs 43 crore.
Speaking on the occasion, Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel said that Mangalore University has been selected to receive a grant of Rs 20 crore under PM-Uchchathar Shiksha Abhiyan (USHA) scheme towards strengthening the University.
“I have been serving as MP for the last three terms. During my first tenure as MP with Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister, Dakshina Kannada district had received Rs 4500 crore for various development works. In the last 10 years under Modi’s tenure, NITK has received Rs 588 crore for various development projects. Dakshina Kannada district has received Rs 79,000 crore.”
Kateel said “PM Modi has emphasised on Viksit Bharat and has given priority to the education sector. The National Education Policy aimed at bringing in reforms in the education sector.”
It is a matter of pride that NITK is one of the top 12th engineering institutes in the country. It was the vision of U S Mallya which led to the creation of KREC (presently NITK) in Surathkal.
NITK Director Prof B Ravi said that the government has been investing in the future of the country — education. The establishment of these state-of-the-art hostels is indicative of NITK’s continuous effort to offer premier accommodation facilities to its students.
The inclusion of these new hostels is expected to significantly improve the residential and academic atmosphere on campus, thereby enhancing the overall student satisfaction at NITK.
He said that the consortium led by NITK will be presenting its proposal on “smart sustainable campus” along with 15 to 16 consortiums led by various institutions in the country.