The IIT-Kanpur, after cancelling annual technical festival’Techkriti’ and suspending classes for students, has now asked the students tovacate the hostels.
Deputy director of the institute Prof Manindra Agarwal, saidthat, “The institute administration suspects that the spread of the viruswill increase over the next week or two. To avoid such a scenario in which alarge number of students will have to be vacated with shortage of transportfacilities, we have sought a gradual reduction of students in thehostels.”
He further said that since faculty members and studentsoften travel to different countries for pursuing academic tasks, chances remainhigh that they may fall victim to the deadly Coronavirus.
The instructions issued to the students state that allundergraduate, MBA, and first year M.Tech students are required to vacate thehostels by March 19. Only PhD, second year M.Tech/MDes/MS and fifth year dualdegree students, who are already in the campus, have been permitted to stay inthe hostels after March 19.
For PG students, who are away from the campus, special leavewill be provided to them, he said.
In addition to this, the IIT-K has also cancelled allbookings for social functions in Community Centre-I and Ashiana that involvevisitors from outside.
The retired employees coming to the health centre to getregular medicines have been directed to report to the help desk where theirbooklets will be deposited and medicines delivered to them.
The specialized OPD, being run at the health centre, isbeing suspended from Tuesday until further notice.