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DU’s Kirori Mal College raising funds for renovation
Kirori Mal College (KMC) is hoping to raise funds, 7 crore, for renovation. Besides the DU authority and HRD ministry, they are trying to tap their starry alumni too.
The auditorium at Kirori Mal College has seen many a popular faces perform here as students. However, now the stage needs renovation. And for that, the college needs funds.
The acting principal, Dinesh Khattar, informs that the approximate budget is “around Rs 7 crores”, for the refurbishment of the auditorium and a few other buildings. He adds, “We have hired a renowned architect and the design has also been finalised. Since the sum is huge, we have written to UGC and HRD ministry to help us in collecting funds. And, we are also trying to tap our alumni network.” The auditorium has reportedly not seen a performance in the past seven years.
He adds, “A lot of our alumni are now big names in various walks of life, including Bollywood. We’re trying to get them on board for the project. We have also had two meetings with the alumni committee. We’re trying to arrange another meeting soon to discuss the funds.”
Actors Amitabh Bachchan, Shakti Kapoor, Satish Kaushik are but a few names on the illustrious ex-KMCites list. Filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar, an alumnus, is all up for the cause. ”It’s a facility that a lot of students like us have used. It has helped us to be where we are today, a lot of my memories are associated with it. Our professor, Keval Arora, has been trying to fix it for very long. I just want to tell him and the student fraternity that we are standing behind them,” says the Sultan director.
Other celebrities have also started expressing support. The college authorities will soon be getting in touch with other alumni regarding the funds. Samir Singh, co-convener of Alumni Committee, says, “We approached Satish Kaushik, who assured us taht he will get us in touch with other celebrities too. Meanwhile, we are assimilating data on other alumni and within one week, we will be in the position to approach more people.”
The prospect of the auditorium coming back to life has students excited. “It will be great to have our auditorium back. And if those who once practiced in this auditorium are instrumental in bringing it back to life, that will be really cool,” says Sachin Saipawar, the president of the students’ union. He adds, “It will be hard collecting funds just from one source. The UGC should help, and I think that it is a good idea to enlist the help of alumni in assimilating funds.”
