IIT-Kharagpur announces total campus shutdown till 23 May; essential services to continue

IIT-Kharagpur announced on Thursday that its offices will remain shut till 23 May in the wake of the rising COVID-19 cases. Except for essential services, no work will be done from the campus, Registrar Tamal Nath told PTI. “We have decided to shut down non-essential offices of the campus from Friday till 23 May, and the staff will be working from home. This will be the same as online classes being held for the students,” he said. Essential services staff will continue to work on the campus, following all COVID protocols, he said. The registrar on Wednesday asked research scholars who were staying in the hostels to leave for home due to limited space for isolation facilities and treatment. Shops on the campus selling essential commodities will be allowed to open for a stipulated period as per the state government’s directive. “Our campus is not located outside West Bengal or India. So, whatever happens in the state and the country, it is bound to be reflected on our campus,” Nath said on the COVID situation at the IIT campus. “However, IIT-Kharagpur has adopted every possible steps and kept the situation under control,” he added.