Severe water crisis in hostels of Assam University, Students’ Union airs grievance

February 4: Shortage of water in the campus of Assam University, Silchar is not a new thing. Even in the past, water crisis was often heard in the varsity. Those students who stay in the hostels are perhaps the worst sufferers. Till now, the University since last 2 decades has failed to come up with any concrete proposal to solve this crisis.

This year too, the problem of shortage of water in the hostels of Assam University has acquired a vigorous form. It is in this context that Assam University Students’ Union (AUSU) submitted a memorandum to the Registrar of Assam University on 4 March, 2020. The memorandum signed by Biswarup Bhattacharjee, President of AUSU and Suman Das, Assistant General Secretary, raised the demand to immediate solve the issue of water crisis in the varsity campus.

It needs mention here that the campus of this central university is now reeling under severe water crisis from the past one week, after the reservoirs went dry in this season. In the last few years though the number of hostels has increased to 9, but no long term measure was adopted to increase the source of water. The AUSU has further stated that if this issue is not resolved immediately, then they will resort to agitation.

Reacting to the demand raised by AUSU, Dr. Pradosh Kiran Nath, Registrar in-charge of the varsity said, “It is very unfortunate that PHE has suddenly drastically reduced the supply of water in the campus. Right at this moment, we are getting only about 60 percent of the required water supply. We require around 5 lakh litres of  water on an average, but now the supply has been reduced to 3 lakh litres. We are trying to resolve it on a war-footing. We have made water tankers available near the hostel gates. By today, we will make 20 litres drinking water dispensers available in all the floors/block of the 9 hostels. I would request all to use water judiciously. We are trying for a permanent solution of this problem and I am hopeful that by October we will be able to offer a permanent solution of this water crisis.”

Saying so, we just could not refrain from mentioning a very germane issue in this entire discourse, and that is the way how a students’ union of a central university of our country writes a memorandum, which is nothing but a ‘comedy of errors.’ The said memorandum is addressed to “The Register” and not to “The Registrar.” We doubt whether a University have a ‘Register’ or a Registrar’.

Each and every line of it is drafted erroneously. If this is how the students of a central university writes English, then we need to raise serious apprehension about the know-how of post-graduate students who are into the helm of affairs of the students’ union. Such type of letters in public domain also lowers the dignity of Assam University.