IIT-K students succumbs to black fungus at SGPGI

Kanpur: A PhD student of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, undergoing treatment at SGPGI, Lucknow for post-Covid complications, succumbed on Tuesday evening due to mucormycosis or black fungus.

This is the first death of an IIT-Kanpur student due to black fungus infection.

The student, Kavindra Kumar Chaturvedi, was enrolled in the department of aerospace engineering and succumbed to mucormycosis as post-Covid complication. He was admitted to SGPGI in Lucknow, IIT-Kanpur director Prof Abhay Karandikar wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday evening.

“We did everything to save him including arranging medicines through a board member (an

IIT-K

alumnus) of a pharma company, but despite best efforts of the doctors, family, friends and the Institute, he could not be saved,” Prof Karandikar wrote in the Facebook post.

Institute’s media co-ordinator Girish Pant said that it is an unfortunate incident and the entire IIT-Kanpur community is in grief. He said that Kavindra got married in September last year and is survived by his wife and parents.

Pant said that Kavindra took his masters degree from MNNIT, Prayagraj after which he joined IIT-Kanpur for pursuing PhD in 2019.

IIT-Kanpur is home to about 8,500 students enrolled in different programmes. But due to Covid pandemic, the campus is deserted and students are at their respective homes. However, online classes for the students are being conducted by the faculty members.