Cyclone Nisarga: Colleges in Raigad seek special fund for repairs

Damaged labs in Doshi Vakil College

Blown away roofs, damaged books in the library, shattered science laboratories, destroyed auditoriums - these are a few of the scenes that can be witnessed in colleges of Raigad district which was highly affected due to cyclone Nisarga.

With the new academic year in the offing, teachers of these colleges have raised major concerns over the damaged infrastructure.

As a result, the Bombay University and College Teachers Union BUCTU has written to the state government seeking special fund allocation for repair-work of these colleges before the academic year commences. These colleges though away from Mumbai are affiliated to the University of Mumbai and cater to local needs of higher education where young students from nearby tribal belt too get benefits.

Considering the condition of the colleges, teachers fear that if not repaired soon, many will prefer to dropout as other colleges which were not damaged are far away.

Roofless LGM College

They also fear that the damaged infrastructure will have a huge impact on new admissions.

Subhash Kadam, an English professor from Doshi Vakil Arts and GCUB Science and Commerce College in Goregaon, Raigad, said, "Anyone who has seen our college before sees it now will be shocked for the amount of damage to the infrastructure. Not only did the trees smash into the building, but we had two water-tanks on the roof which too fell down. Without the government-s help it won-t be possible to rebuild the college in time."

"Moreover, there is no option of another college for students in this area. All nearby colleges are equally damaged and if anyone who wants to study, they will have to travel faraway which many would not bother to do and instead dropout," expressed Kadam.

In its letter, BUCTU has mentioned the names of colleges and the damages it suffered. Some of the colleges are TMC College, Mangaon which endured heavy damage to its building, while Sheth J N Paliwala College, Pali saw its auditorium getting destroyed along with physics, chemistry and computer labs. Gokhale College, Shriwardhan saw its roof blown away, along with severe damage to its physics and botany laboratories.

Classrooms damaged at TMC College

Whereas, the roof of gymkhana, girls- hostel and auditorium blew away at LGM college, Mandangad causing immense damage to furniture, fans, and the college building.

In its letter, the BUCTU has said, "We earnestly appeal to you to declare a special relief package for the colleges that have faced extensive damage due to the cyclone Nisarga. So we will require heavy investment for repairing the buildings, replacing the damaged equipment, books, computers, and overhauling/rebuilding laboratories and classrooms prior to commencement of the academic session."

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