How many people are accommodated in one room of hostel? What are the facilities?

Comfortable, clean and full of camaraderie!

The hostel accommodation at IIT Madras varies according to the year and program. First-year undergraduates are allotted Mandakini (for boys) or Swarnamukhi (for girls). At the beginning of the third semester, they are allotted a different hostel, double-sharing being the criteria. The students get to choose their roommates, and 7-8 rooms adjacent to each other form a wing. 

Students are shifted in their third year to their final hostel, where they stay until graduation. The allocation is single/triple, based on preference. Postgraduate students are allotted single rooms.

Facilities

The hostel rooms are equipped with a table, a chair, a shelf, and a bed (without a mattress). Students get an almirah for storage. The room also has an overhead fan and multiple lights. A high-speed LAN network is provided, with multiple ports in case of double/triple sharing. Students, however, are required to buy their own LAN cables. Power cuts, though  infrequent, happen and the electricity is restored in a matter of minutes in such instances. The larger tower hostels have lifts for convenience. The hostel also provides mosquito nets for windows. 

There are multiple common restrooms located on each floor. A set of 7-8 rooms get to share washing machines (automatic and semi-automatic). Students are responsible for their laundry and room maintenance. There is a cleaning staff that take care of all the common areas, including restrooms, corridors, and floors, but the rooms have to be cleaned by the students themselves. However, if there are pre-existing problems with dirt or paint, hostel management can be called for assistance.

The hostels also have an outdoor central badminton court, music rooms, reading rooms, and TV rooms. Gyms are common for everyone. Mandakini has multiple badminton courts on the premises. Some hostels also have vending machines inside, accessible 24*7!

In case of any issues, students can contact the hostel manager who strive for prompt resolution. 

In addition to the excellent facilities, hostel life will be an experience that every student will treasure for a lifetime. Waking up beside friends, having food, going to classes together, barging into each other's rooms, causing a stir, etc., are somethings that will transform into core memories.

Here is a vlog by an IITM student as he takes you through the hostels, their facilities, and students’ feedback -

(This video is not made by AskIITM - it has been attached for viewing purposes only. Credits to  Rahuram Chanthrakumar on YouTube.)