BHUBANESWAR: Regular classes at IIT Bhubaneswar marked the return of the institute to normalcy after extremely severe cyclone “FANI” struck the campus causing serious damages to civil and electrical infrastructure.
The 2km of boundary wall constructed in 2010 by IDCO collapsed during the calamity. There were no casualties reported inside the campus due to precautionary steps taken, but minor injuries were sustained by 12 persons.
Electricity was supplied to the essential areas including hostels and quarters within 24 hours of the cyclone. R V Raja Kumar, Director, IIT Bhubaneswar, said, “The damage caused by FANI to the institute was more than what was expected. Our team of meteorology research headed by U C Mohanty, School of Earth, Ocean and Climate Sciences also predicted the course of FANI using a hybrid of their own models.
The security at IIT Bhubaneswar along with housekeeping and maintenance team worked round the clock to ascertain the safety, security, sanitation for all those inside the campus. Thus the Institute continued its operation and restored normalcy in the campus with only the operations of May 03 shifted to May 06 and 07, 2019.