Over the last few weeks, several institutions and organisations have come forward to donate and do their bit in the fight against COVID-19. Among them are the alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, who, with concentrated efforts in India and abroad, has raised over $2 million for COVID relief in the country. The institute is coordinating with them on the ground and is deploying resources in a phased manner to ensure optimisation. Recently, with the help of these donations, the institute purchased 200 oxygen concentrators and handed them over to the Greater Chennai Corporation.
The fundraising was coordinated by the office Of Alumni and Corporate Relations (ACR), IIT Madras, in association with IIT Madras Alumni Association of North America and IITM Foundation in the US. Besides oxygen concentrators, which were handed over to the corporation by IIT Madras Director Bhaskar Ramamurthi, the institute's registrar, Jane Prasad also handed over 74 BiPAP units to the corporation. Another 200 oxygen concentrators were also donated to the Telanagana government with the funds raised by the alumni associations.
Speaking about the COVID relief measures undertaken by the alumni, Kaviraj Nair, CEO (Development Office), IIT Madras, said, “We saw a tremendous response from our alumni who rose to the occasion and contributed generously to COVID relief activities. IIT Madras alumni have demonstrated again that we are conscious of our social responsibilities and most willing to help our nation in times of need.”
Besides these efforts, IIT Madras has formed a COVID Relief Fund to support students and faculty who are in distress due to the medical exigencies caused by the pandemic. In the last financial year, IIT Madras raised around Rs 96 lakh to help students and employees of the institute.
A clear proposal to upgrade the medical infrastructure within the campus has also been made. This will cater to any potential requirements that may arise as IIT Madras reopens the campus to receive students as and when the lockdown conditions are lifted and the threat of the pandemic eases out.