MSU constitutes panel to ensure safety at C C Mehta Auditorium

The five-member committee will submit its report after 20 days. The newly formed committee will ensure improvement and safety with regard to utilisation of the auditorium for the public use.

Milind Beedkar,the university’s In-charge Registrar said Prof P Prabhakaran,the head of department,Mechanical,Faculty of Technology and Engineering will be the convener of the committee.

He said the committee will also include A K Mangalani,a former teacher with the department of mechanical engineering,one FSL expert deputed by the Commissioner of Police,Vadodara city,Rajan Vyas,an air conditioning expert and one university engineer.

The improvement in the system will be effected based on the committee’s report which will be submitted in 20 days,said Beedkar.

Further,the university sources said the entire Air Handling Unit (AHU) in the auditorium was being cleaned,a day after the incident. All the air filters were cleaned so that they could maintain air circulation in the auditorium.

Narendra Rawat,the MSU Senate,has presented a memorandum to the MSU authorities demanding immediate inquiry into the matter.

Rawat alleged that no body was constituted in the university to handle an emergency situation like this. He further said,”Earlier,the head of the mechanical department was the coordinator of the C C Mehta auditorium. However,that responsibility was given to Harishchandra Vyas because of political reasons.”

Some MSU officials,on the condition of anonymity,alleged that the air conditioning system installed in 1999 had become outdated. They said that in 1999,a committee was formed to collect funds for AC installation and nearly Rs 3 lakh were collected.