Sewage-like water at RGUKT-Basar: Officials refute allegations of students

RGUKT-Basar officials have denied allegations of supplying contaminated drinking water, claiming old videos are being circulated. Students have rejected the explanation, accusing officials of misleading parents. The university has reportedly been facing a drinking water shortage.

Nirmal: The Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge and Technology (RGUKT)-Basar officials have refuted allegations of providing sewage-like drinking water to students of the institute. They released videos of protected water, countering claims by a section of students that they were being forced to consume contaminated water and had been diagnosed with skin-related diseases.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, RGUKT Vice-Chancellor Prof Govardhan clarified that unverified videos relating to drinking water and food were being circulated on social media platforms. He advised parents to verify the date and place of the videos and asked them not to spread unverified information.

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The officials said that old videos were being shared in the name of RGUKT-Basar. They noted that the circulation of such videos was creating tension among parents. They said it was irresponsible to run a malicious campaign against the university without cross-checking facts.

Meanwhile, students faulted the officials for rebutting their claims. They said that the officials were misleading parents by sharing old videos. They asked the officials to disclose the place and source of the safe drinking water shown in the videos and photographs. They criticised the officials for failing to address the issue.

On October 22, the university deferred the recommencement of classes by a few days in the wake of extraordinary circumstances triggered by the El Niño pattern and in the interest of students’ welfare. It decided to conduct online classes for students from the first year of engineering to the final year. Accordingly, PUC first- and second-year students are currently attending classes on the campus.

The university was reportedly supplying 10 lakh litres of water against the requirement of 25 lakh litres per day, prompting officials to postpone classes and organise online classes. To address the drinking water crisis, officials arranged an alternative drinking water facility by purchasing motors to draw water from the Godavari river, spending Rs 8 lakh.