Research is the backbone of Universities: Faizal Kottikollon
KEF Holdings establishes R&D Centre at MIT, Manipal
Manipal, Dec 15: “India is growing and the platform for nation building is a university. And, for the universities to move forward, the backbone is research,” said Mr Faizal E. Kottikollon, Founder and Chairman, KEF Holdings, UAE after inaugurating the MIT-KEF R&D Centre at Manipal Institute of Technology here on Saturday.
The Centre is the brainchild of Mr Faizal an alumnus of MIT.
It was in 2012 that when he came to attend a alumni reunion , he shared the idea of starting a research centre for pre-fabricated building material with Manipal Academy of Higher Education. That idea took birth today with the inauguration of the first phase.
The Centre is a joint venture between MAHE and KEF Holdings, UAE, a multinational company that specializes in innovative offsite construction technology. The total investment for the Centre is worth Rs.16 crores with equal contributions from both partners.
The R&D Centre has been established under the aegis of Faizal and Shabana Foundation.
Later, at the valedictory of the two-day 3rd Global Alumni meet of Manipal Academy of Higher Education at KMC Greens, Mr Faizal and his wife, Ms Shabana were felicitated.
The concept of “manufacturing buildings” was brought to India by KEF in 2014. They established office in Bangalore and have since designed several buildings. All Indira Canteens in Karnataka have been designed and built by KEF.
“The idea is to design and then manufacture the components in a factory environment. We introduce robotics into this industry. And in the last three years we have grown by million dollars. For me it is a great opportunity to involve my team and your professors here and bring this concept to reality. If we can manufacture aircraft and cars, why not buildings,” Mr Faizal reasoned.
It takes years to make building, but this concept is much faster. For example he said, “This building is of 50,000 square feet and after designing and manufacturing, it can be built in about two months,” he said.
The Centre aims at providing a cutting-edge research and development facility to upcoming Civil Engineering and Architecture students. It will be equipped with state-of-the-art prestressing lab along with material testing lab.
Director MIT, Dr Srikanth Rao welcomed the gathering and said, “We look forward for the research work to start and for the results of research to benefit students and faculty. Present on the occasion were Mrs Vasanti R Pai, Trustee MAHE Trust and wife of Chancellor, Dr Ramdas M Pai, Dr Ranjan Pai, Chairman, MEMG, Bengaluru, Pro Chancellor, Dr H.S. Ballal, Vice Chancellor, Dr H Vinod Bhat Shabana Faizal, Co Founder and Vice Chairperson of KEF Holdings and other officials of the MAHE and KEF Holdings including the CEO of KEF, Mr Richard Pattle.
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
