34 deaths in 18 days: Panic in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) as many teachers die of Covid-19

New Delhi: Second wave of the COVID-19 has been very fatal for the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) as several staff members of the reputed university have succumbed to the virus. The list includes more than 40 serving and retired faculty members along with several non-teaching staffers.

Vice Chancellor Tariq Mansoor has also lost his elder brother a few days ago. He was the dean of the Law department who died on Saturday due to COVID-19 related complications.

A large number of staffers are under medical treatment at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College Hospital of the university. The number of deaths can reach a higher number and the university administration suspects the reason to be coronavirus.

(Jawaharlal Nehru College Hospital, AMU)

Zeeshan an official of the university said that the campus is deserted as there are no classes. He also said that most of the hostellers have left. Some of the retired faculty members who left Aligarh have also died in their hometowns like Bhopal and Hyderabad.

Locals allege that the university administration has been sleeping despite having all the resources. They also alleged that no special mechanism or arrangements have been put in place. People have also stopped going to the medical college for vaccination due to the fear of contracting COVID-19 infection.

“Fear is rampant. The winds of despair and gloom sweep the campus. The central government should step in and control the worsening situation,” said a local AMU student. It is not known that how many of the deceased were vaccinated. Though it is being accepted widely that there have been a few deaths due to Covid-morbidities and age.

According to the district administration, on May 8, there were 417 fresh cases, 295 were discharged. Local medical circles confirmed the situation was really alarming.

V-C has demanded a probe in sample found on the campus

Vice-Chancellor Tariq Mansoor wrote to the ICMR on Sunday, urging them to investigate the infection variant circulating around the university campus. The letter was sent due to the alarming situation as many faculty members have already died due to COVId-19 or COVID like symptoms.

In the letter sent to the Director-General of ICMR, the V-C stated that 16 serving and 18 retired teachers along with some other employees of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) have lost their lives to the infection in the past 18 days.

He said, “There is a possibility that a particular variant may be circulating in areas around the AMU campus and surrounding localities, which has led to these deaths”, while stressing the need for the probe to control the spread of the virus. He further mentioned that the microbiology laboratory at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in AMU is sending the samples found in the campus to the Institute of Genomics and Integrated Biology laboratory, New Delhi, for the genome sequencing of variants.

#AMU_JNMC sends samples for viral genome sequencing , these are sent in accordance with the ICMR guidelines with a letter of AMU VC @ProfTariqManso1 @DrRPNishank @drharshvardhan @PMOIndia @MoHFW_INDIA @EduMinOfIndia @ICMRDELHI @mygovindia @SanjayDhotreMP @amuaa_chicago @PTI_News pic.twitter.com/WOTJXkFTIN

— Aligarh Muslim University (@AMUofficialPRO) May 9, 2021

Meanwhile, Principal of the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Shahid Ali Siddiqui said that 25 doctors at the hospital have tested positive for the infection in the past fortnight. Only three doctors are under treatment currently as others have recovered from the infection, he said. Prof Shadaab Khan, head of the Medicine Department at the college, has died from COVID-19 two days ago.

The college principal also said that there is a shortage of medical oxygen at the medical college as they are totally dependent on their three liquid oxygen plants. Despite continuous efforts, the hospital has not received a single oxygen cylinder from outside for the past 12 days.