Raichur: A four-member site selection committee visited Raichur on Friday to explore the feasibility of setting up the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) here.
The committee headed by MHRD additional secretary (technical education) R Subramanian, comprised IIT-Bombay director Devang V. Khakhar, IIT-Gandhinagar director Sudhir L. Jain and central public works department (CPWD) chief engineer Ravi Kant Soni.
The state government has selected three districts - Mysuru, Dharwad and Raichur – as probable sites for setting up the IIT. The team is touring all three districts and visited Mysuru first. In Mysuru, the team inspected the University of Agriculture Sciences located on the outskirts of the town and sought details regarding facilities available for housing the premier institute.
Later, the team visited land available near the Yeramarus airstrip. The Raichur DC explained to the team that besides 410 acres of land available, farmers have consented to sell around 300 acres of land. The DC also explained that the water pipeline from the Krishna river passed through the area and there would be no shortage of water.
Besides, eight units of Raichur Thermal Power Station each of 210 MW capacity, another thermal unit with around 2100 MW capacity is coming up at Yeramarus, so the requirement of power for the IIT could be easily met. The central team was also told that the international airport at Hyderabad was around 100 kms from the town and could be reached in two hours.
