It was a promise too good to be true. That of a malfunctioning device at the Anna University being set right in a matter of 20 minutes. Only that the assurances proved to be empty in the end.
A touchscreen information kiosk was installed near the main gate of the varsity on Friday last, to provide information on TNEA-2013 in a jiffy to the thousands of engineering aspirants. The kiosk was designed by the Institute of Remote Sensing and inaugurated by V-C. However, for the better part on Monday, it did not function.
When Express contacted the V-C, he attributed the problem to a power failure in the region. “We have been experiencing power fluctuations since this morning, which could have led to the failure of the device.” He added that they had to depend on generator to conduct the counseling sessions.
The “instant action” did arrive, in the form of a communication from the director of the IRS, Dr M Ramalingam, who assured that the device was repaired. However, a visit to the kiosk an hour later pointed out that the reality was just the opposite.