Calls for Covid care at varsities grow louder
New Delhi: From Delhi University to Aligarh Muslim University, teachers and students from universities are mourning the loss of their colleagues and professors as the second wave hit the national Capital and other states hard.
At University of Delhi more than 30 scholars and teaching staff have died due to the pandemic.
Keeping that is mind the teachers from DU have requested the administration to turn he Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute or VPCI, housed in the university campus, to be turned into Covid dedicated institution for the university teachers.
"We are already late. Before more lives are lost, before all savings are depleted, the requisite permission and help must be given. Our pulmonary experts may be lacking strength in numbers and we may have lesser nurses and paramedics but when everyday, our friends and colleagues are dying due to COVID, is expecting that Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute (VPCI) be converted into a dedicated Covid Centre so unreasonable? When will the people in power take these pertinent decisions?" Delhi University Teachers Association Rajib Ray said.
Meanwhile, a professor writes about the departure of his friend and former colleague. "My friend and former colleague at Kirori Mal College, Dr. SC Garg is no more. After a long struggle against Covid he merged into the divine," writes Professor Inder Mohan Kapathy, sharing some photos with his friend.
"Dr. SC Garg's life is a lesson. It teaches us the extraordinary power the ordinary possesses. Born into a poor farmer family in Uchh village near Karnal, with small land holding, by his grit, inborn intelligence and determination he made huge progress in life. Also did his PhD from prestigious DSE. With his acute understanding of money, with practical knowledge of appropriate processes of multiplying it, he was quite successful in terms of material wealth," he said.
At AMU, 18 professors have lost their lives, however the students and professors say number is high. Speaking to Millennium Post, university's PRO Omar Peerzada said that rumours on high number of deaths among teaching and non-teaching staff is false, as the list also includes names of retired professors. "We condole the death of the teaching and non-teaching staff due to covid-19, these are sad days indeed, but we are taking all precautions and measures to help the kin of the
staff have already been approved. We also had a meeting with the education minister and chief minster regarding this, while the university is regularly following all the protocols," he said.
Shadaab Khan, a 58-year-old doctor and head of the medicine department. Shakil Ahmed Samdani, 59, Dean at the Faculty of Law. Khalid Bin Yusuf, 60, noted Sanskrit scholar and the first Indian Muslim to earn a PhD in the Rigveda are some of the professors who have lost their lives due to covid-19.
