Water scarcity: Manipal University shortens semester duration

Manipal University has shortened the duration for the even semester as a precautionary measure to prevent water shortage in the months of April and May.

The university has been facing acute water scarcity in summer for past three years.
Manipal Institute of Technology’s (MIT) academic calendar has holidays setting in two weeks early. School of Communication (SOC) has reduced the current semester’s duration by almost a month.

Udupi City Municipal Corporation (CMC) provides staggered supply of water to the campus for a period of three hours per day. Following this, the university has been compelled to provide tanker water and also tap water drawn from some borewells available in the vicinity.

The university has now sought to tackle the crisis by shortening the semester’s duration. The semester commenced early, but the number of days have been decreased.

The university has also taken up novel campaigns to create awareness among students for judicious use of water. Posters carrying messages of ‘Save water’ and circulars on effective management of water have been posted on the walls of the hostels.  

The university’s ‘Green Manipal’ initiative to ecologically sustain its campuses involves an elaborate waste water management system. The programme enables water harvesting units and also sewage treatment plants to recycle and reuse sewage water. Even after all these efforts taken towards sustainability of water management, the university has been facing water problems every summer.