The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a warning about an impending heat wave, leading to the State Government calling for the closure of all colleges. “Considering the prevailing heatwave situation, the competent authority in the State Government has decided all autonomous/State/Central Government and private universities/affiliating colleges in the State of West Bengal will remain closed with effect from April 17 for a week or until further order, whichever is earlier,” the higher education department notification said. Earlier, the Indian Meteorological Department had predicted that heatwave conditions are likely in isolated pockets of Gangetic West Bengal until Monday (April 17).
The fact that power cuts and water shortages would accompany this exacerbates the students’ conditions in their Halls of Residence. Moreover, the heat wave is particularly challenging as end-semester exams are coming up, and there is a lack of air-conditioned shared spaces on campus.
The Central Library has a wonky duct system and limited air-conditioned spaces. Even amongst them, a few have additional restrictions, and others have limited seating capacity. Over and above, some of these spaces don’t have fully functioning air conditioning units. All these reasons combined have made it difficult for students to prepare for their examinations adequately.
Moreover, the Halls of Residences have very few to none of these air-conditioned spaces.
Apart from issues pertaining to preparations for the end-semester examinations, the living conditions within the Halls are also not up to the mark. This has led to apprehensions among the students (particularly the freshers who are required to remain on campus the entire summer).
Lack of ventilation in eating and common areas, ignorance towards the inclusion of food choices suitable for summers, choppy water and electricity supply, the never-ending sanitation problems, the lively taxation on the installation of coolers in rooms, etc., have complimented the scorching heat in making this transition to summer particularly challenging.
However, students can consider several potential solutions to cope with the heat (and the highly vigilant administration system) and maintain academic performance. One possible solution is for IIT Kharagpur to open up air-conditioned classrooms in Nalanda, which could provide students with a conducive study environment. By doing so, the institute could prioritise the health and well-being of its students and send a positive message of support during these difficult times.
Additionally, students can invest in personal fans or portable air coolers, adjust their study schedule to cooler parts of the day, stay hydrated and take regular breaks to cool down and seek support from college authorities for alternative study spaces or other solutions.
However, the “state-of-the-art technology” offered remains under heavy scrutiny (limited to academic facilities and not focussing on the needs of those who’ll take the former further). Being the oldest IIT, the living conditions have also leapt backwards in time. It is imperative that with the rise in temperature through the years, the living conditions will have to be improved by taking proactive steps. Newer IITs in Jodhpur and Gandhinagar have air-conditioning units to deal with high temperatures. While installing air-conditioning units in every room is unrealistic for a campus as large as KGP, the current state of affairs with little to no air-conditioned working and living spaces is inexcusable.