IIT Ropar suffers ₹30 crore loss due to floods

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar, has suffered a loss to the tune of about ₹ 30 crore due to recent floods, the institution’s director Prof SK Das

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar, has suffered a loss to the tune of about ₹ 30 crore due to recent floods, the institution’s director Prof SK Das on Sunday said.

HT Image

“Though the actual extent of loss will be known in the coming days, this is our initial estimate of loss,” Prof SK Das added. Water entered the institution’s campus after breaking the compound wall following a breach in the seasonal Bhudki rivulet near Khairabad village on August 18.

Flooding intensified with a downpour in the region, resulting in water entering the residential, academic, administrative and hostel zones on that afternoon. The water had also entered the electrical substations on the campus, resulting in shutdown of power supply to all the buildings.

As the rising water level and the flow did not stop, the IIT authorities and district administration made arrangement to break the compound wall on the eastern side for quick drainage of floodwater from the campus.

According to information, equipment positioned on the ground floors is believed to have been damaged due to floodwater. Some of the furniture of lecture halls and offices was also damaged. The floodwater had also entered in the sewage pumping stations and a sewage treatment plant (STP) besides a water treatment plant.

The institution’s authorities have sent a detailed report to the ministry of human resources development on the loss, besides requesting the Punjab government to provide ₹10 crore help for repair work.