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Hobbled by cyclone damage, Peradeniya Uni gets back to work
All faculties of the University of Peradeniya have resumed operations despite facing “severe limitations” regarding scientific instruments and equipment, Vice Chancellor Prof. Terrance Madhujith said this week.
Cyclone Ditwah caused extensive damage, including to about 350 computers. Hardware, software and other equipment are being shared among faculties and centres to continue lectures.
The university has borrowed space from other locations and also moved students to different faculties, Prof. Madhujith said.
“Despite the damage, four faculties have already absorbed the 2024 A-Level batch of students,’’ he said.
Peradeniya university: Coming back to life amidst severe constraints
Several buildings have developed cracks. These were evaluated by the university’s geotechnical team and the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO), which advised against their further use. Authorities have been asked to monitor them continuously for possible structural shifts.
Additionally, seven locations have been identified as “red zones” that are prone to landslides, Prof. Madhujith said. One of these is the university temple, which borders the faculty of arts and landscape and security divisions.
An area close to one male hostel has also been flagged as high risk. While the NBRO has recommended moving students out of it, the university does not have alternative space to relocate some 500 students. Prof. Madhujith said slope stabilisation has to be urgently carried out. There is no viable option.
The university has given an estimate of Rs. 2.5 million to the government to assist in recovery efforts.
Some donors have provided bed linen, pillows and stationery to help restore some semblance of normalcy. A total of 144 mattresses were contributed from Australia. A flood relief fund has collected nearly Rs. 5m, while global alumni associations have also pledged financial and equipment support.
But the university faces an uphill task in clearing donations, as they are not tax-exempt. “One of the biggest problems we face is that when equipment is brought into the country, there is a huge tax imposed,” Prof. Madhujith said. “When the Prime Minister visited us, she promised that she would find a solution.”
Sarasawi Madura, a hostel, was badly hit. Both buildings belonging to it were flooded up to the first floor. The affected floors housed around 144 students, but the entire building held around four times that number. All 600 students were relocated to the Ramanathan Hall. In total, students were evacuated from four hotels, although only one was directly flooded.
An older section of one of the big hostels that held 12 students was also damaged, said Deputy Vice Chancellor Prof. Ranjith Pallegama. Students were relocated to other university hostels or boarding places where vacancies existed.
| Agri faculty raises Rs 11m to help recover | |
| The faculty of agriculture has raised around Rs. 11 million from alumni, its Dean Prof. Barana Jayawardena said. Equipment donations were received (mostly related to dairy processing) from well-wishers and private companies.The departments of animal science, soil science, and the farm of the department of agriculture engineering were damaged. Three laboratories of the animal science department, namely the dairy product technology laboratory, the meat product technology laboratory and the aquaculture laboratory, were destroyed. Two laboratories at the department of soil science also suffered harm. Due to the damage in low-lying areas, engineers have advised shifting two laboratories from animal science and two from soil science to the first floors of their respective buildings. This shift requires significant financial and structural assistance, Prof. Jayawardena said. |
| Management Faculty manages with scarce resources | |
| The Peradeniya University’s faculty of management lost about 80% of its resources, including multimedia equipment, smart boards and computers.“Despite numerous issues, the university administration decided they did not want to keep students at home and invited all batches back to campus,” said faculty Dean Prof. Ravi Kuruppuge. Out of three buildings, the main administrative building is still unusable, as the NBRO has still not cleared it. Restoration of Wi-Fi and electricity cannot be done until a report is issued. To prioritise space for teaching, all administration staff, including the dean, senior assistant registrar and management assistants, are operating from one small room in a new building. The faculty is now restricted to eight rooms and one large lecture room. The lack of space has forced it to hire or request rooms from the Postgraduate Institute of Science (PGIHS) during weekdays. It has also borrowed multimedia equipment from the science and arts faculties as well as the PGIHS. For IT requirements, the nearby university IT centre has promised to assist. A government committee was appointed to evaluate the destruction, and the faculty submitted a damages and recovery plan to the Higher Education Ministry. Although officials visited and verbally committed to helping, there have been no direct funds or detailed responses yet. The funds so far received represent less than 10% of the destruction faced by the faculty, authorities said. The University Alumni Association (US Chapter) has donated one 81-inch smartboard. The 0-7 Batch Alumni has given four laptops and a printer. Lecturers studying abroad have granted one laptop. The Management Faculty Teachers’ Union gave a printer, and members of the public have donated five laptops, two printers, one pedestal fan and two kettles.
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