Rural parts of Maharashtra’s Thane district, February 15, after being shut for nearly 11 months in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Collector Rajesh Narvekar in an order issued on February 14 allowed the reopening of colleges only in rural areas of the district. The order said only 50 per cent attendance will be allowed in a day and the educational institutions will have to strictly follow all COVID-19 prevention guidelines. Action will be taken against colleges that are found to be violating the regulations and not holding sessions as specified in the order, the collector said. With regard to colleges falling under urban limits, directions of the municipal corporation concerned will be applicable, he said. On Sunday, Thane reported 354 new cases of COVID-19, taking the tally in the district to 2, 57,745. So far, 6,202 people have died of the viral infection in the district, as per official figures.
As part of its phased reopening amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Delhi University will also be allowing research scholars and faculty members to access four more libraries across its campuses. After allowing access to the central library last week, the varsity reopened the Central Science Library, Ratan Tata Library, South Delhi Campus Library, and Faculty of Law Library for PhD and MPhil scholars and faculty members on Monday. It announced that users will have to make prior registration to use the library facilities from 10 am to 4 pm on weekdays.
“Library facilities under Delhi University Library System (DULS) will be made operational in phases. In the first phase, only bona fide faculty members, PhD/MPhil scholars will be allowed to use library reading room facilities. The reading room facilities would be limited from 10 am to 4 pm during the weekdays i.e. Monday to Friday,” the university said in a notice.
As part of its eighth and ninth phase of reopening, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has allowed final-year PhD students to return to the campus. While the “9B students” (day-scholars), who have to submit their theses on or before June 30, are allowed to enter the campus from Monday, PhD scholars residing in the hostels will be allowed to return from February 22, a notification dated February 12 said. The university has also allowed the reopening of the library canteen with immediate effect.
