BHUBANESWAR: As educational institutions in the Capital continue to report new cases of Covid-19, the silence of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) as well as the State government is gradually turning the campuses into breeding grounds for the coronavirus. The city reported 29 cases in the last 24 hours of which one was detected from a coaching institute near Gajapati Nagar. A professor of Rama Devi (RD) Women’s University was also tested positive on the day.
Sources said that the professor who tested positive, had chaired a sports council meeting attended by the Vice-Chancellor, registrar as well as officials of 48 colleges affiliated to the university. The officials even had lunch at one place after the meeting. A number of final year UG and PG students also attended their exams offline on the university campus on the day and under such circumstances, sources claimed that it is difficult to carry out contact tracing and ensure safety of all. University Vice-Chancellor Aparajita Chowdhury, however, said the meeting was conducted with adequate social distancing in the auditorium. She added that after detection of the case, the university has decided to conduct screening of all teaching and non-teaching staff on Thursday.
Not just RD, after the cluster outbreak of the infection in XIMB on March 22, many other institutions including Allen Institute, ODM Public School and Kendriya Vidyalaya-I have reported new cases of Covid-19 this month. Not less than 70 persons, including a number of students, have been tested positive for the virus in the educational institutions in the city in the last one week.
Though the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) has not issued any specific guidelines for opening of private coaching centres, many continue to operate in the city right under the nose of the BMC with the civic body turning a blind eye to the violations. Even as students have started demanding classes and exams in online mode, the State government is yet to consider it. While officials at department level said the district collectors and civic administrators have been authorised to take appropriate measures against any lapses in their jurisdiction, Municipal Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary couldn’t be reached for his comments.
VIRUS FEAR
29 cases detected in last 24 hours
Students demand online classes but State silent on the issue
Private coaching centres operate minus guidelines