IIT Kharagpur has asked its research scholars to vacate hostels and go home because of the “limited space of isolation facilities and treatment”. Late on Wednesday, the registrar issued a notice that said the institute will remain closed from May 14-23.
An email that the institute authorities sent to the hostel wardens on Wednesday morning said: “Institute authorities have decided that due to limited space of isolation facilities and treatment, it is imperative that students should now proceed to their homes”.
In December last year, the institute had allowed around 800 of its 4,000-odd research scholars to return to the campus in batches.
From mid-April, IIT Kharagpur decided to stop the remaining research scholars from returning to the campus because of a lack of beds at hospitals for Covid patients.
Now, because the situation has deteriorated further, those who were on the campus have been asked to leave.
“Please ask them (students) to make their plans to go home urgently. As the situation is not very good elsewhere, the institute will help in travelling to respective places by arranging buses and cars for students,” the email said.
Highlighting the burdened and insufficient medical facilities, dean of students’ affairs Somesh Kumar had on April 17 written to the research scholars who were going to return to the campus over the next few weeks to defer their journey.
Many on the campus said they relied on hospitals in Calcutta for treatment of critical diseases because BC Roy Technology Hospital on the campus was not equipped to deal with the rising number of Covid patients.
Calcutta itself is struggling to cope with the number of infections in the second wave of the Covid pandemic, a professor said.
The hostel wardens have been asked to get details — home address, email ID, room number, mobile number, guardian’s name and phone number — of the boarders residing in the halls as early as possible, an IIT Kharagpur official said.
“We are taking steps required for travel arrangements from the institute’s end. We had planned to bring students in phases. But as the scale of the pandemic is growing we have asked students to proceed to their homes,” IIT Kharagpur registrar Tamal Nath told Metro.
The scholars who are from nearby places or those who can make their own arrangements can leave after informing the warden or dean of students’ affairs, an official said.
The mail reminds the hostel wardens that a negative RT-PCR report is required to enter many states.
“Based on the plan of travel, they (students) will be asked to get the RT-PCR test in BC Roy Technology Hospital in slots,” the mail said.
“Last year, when students had been asked to vacate the hostels, the institute had asked them to make their own arrangements. The IIT authorities had even disconnected the Internet to force the students to vacate the hostels. But this time, they are making arrangements for our transportation,’’ said a research scholar.
Late on Wednesday, the registrar issued a notice that said: “In view of the rise in the number of Covid-19 affected cases in the campus and as decided in the meeting of the stakeholders for breaking of the chain of Covid-19..... the institute shall remain closed from 14th May to May 23rd.”
