SAMBALPUR: In wake of the tragic incident that claimed the life of a first year civil engineering student, the management of Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT) has prohibited students from visiting six vulnerable spots around the varsity campus.
The Burla-based university has also cautioned of disciplinary action if its order is violated.
On March 13, first year student Priyanshu Prakash Behera died after he fell into the power channel which he was visiting with his friends. While the incident sent shockwaves among the students community, the same evening an emergency meeting was convened on the directions of the vice-chancellor. Subsequently, the university issued a notice prohibiting students from visiting six vulnerable spots around the varsity to prevent such incidents in the future.
“It is strictly warned that no student of VSSUT shall visit the following vulnerable points on any day, at any time including Power Channel, Mahanadi River, Syphon Spillway, Athra Hazar Point, Right Dyke, Jhankrani Temple and Fishery Point. Strict disciplinary action will be taken against students violating the warning.”
While the advisory was issued and uploaded on the varsity website during Holi, students got to know about the notice when they resumed classes on Monday. The decision has evoked mixed response. While some acknowledged the concern of the university, a small section of students found the decision overbearing.
The past decades have seen students of VSSUT losing their lives due to accidental drowning at these spots.
In one of the most heartbreaking incidents in 1998, seven students of the varsity who were bathing at the power channel drowned when 50 gates of Hirakud Dam reservoir were opened to release water following heavy unseasonal rainfall in Chhattisgarh.
When the news spread, the state government ordered the then RDC Hrusikesh Panda to conduct an inquiry into the incident and an inquiry commission was also formed for the purpose. However, it is unclear how far the investigation report was implemented.
In April 2022, two third-year computer students had drowned while swimming at Athra Hazar Point. Before that in May 2018, a B.Arch student died while bathing at a particular point of Hirakud Dam reservoir behind Jhankrani Temple.
In February 2017, a student of E&T department died while swimming at Syphon Spillway and the same year in April, a man along with his two sons drowned in the reservoir behind Jhankrani temple. This apart, two such tragic incidents also took place in the 90s.