Archive · 25 Sep 2026
Waterlogged ISI Hostels Spur Student Protest at Main Gate
Students at the Indian Statistical Institute were upset because water had collected around their hostels.
They said this problem had lasted for several years.
Heavy rain recently made the flooding worse.
The students said the water could help mosquitoes breed and made the campus dirty.
They blocked the institute’s main gate for about two hours.
Ravinder Kumar, a senior institute officer, then visited the hostels through knee-deep water.
He heard the students’ complaints and promised a permanent solution, according to a student.
The students agreed to reopen the gate, and a meeting was planned for Friday.
Students at the Indian Statistical Institute blocked its main gate for two hours on Thursday evening.
They said waterlogging around all five hostels had persisted for several years despite complaints.
Students linked the flooding to mosquito-breeding sites and unhygienic residential conditions.
Recent incessant heavy rain worsened the waterlogging across the Bon Hooghly campus.
Chief executive officer Ravinder Kumar visited the hostels, and a student meeting with the administration was scheduled for Friday.
- Who
- Students of the Indian Statistical Institute and institute officer Ravinder Kumar were involved.
- What
- Students blocked the main gate for two hours to protest waterlogging around the hostels.
- When
- The protest took place on Thursday evening; a meeting was scheduled for Friday.
- Where
- The Indian Statistical Institute campus in Bon Hooghly, on the northern fringes of Calcutta.
- Why
- Students said long-standing waterlogging, worsened by heavy rain, created mosquito-breeding sites and unhygienic conditions.
Students’ concerns
Institute administration’s response
Cause and duration of the problem
Students’ concerns
Students said waterlogging had continued for several years and attributed it to administrative apathy and insufficient attention to their complaints.
Institute administration’s response
The article does not include a direct response from the institute director; calls and messages to Amartya Dutta went unanswered.
Response to the protest
Students’ concerns
Students said they blocked the gate to force the administration to address conditions around the hostels.
Institute administration’s response
Chief executive officer Ravinder Kumar visited the hostels, heard the students, and promised a permanent solution, according to a student.
Campus conditions
Students’ concerns
Students said all five hostels faced flooding, creating mosquito-breeding sites and unhygienic conditions, while the administrative campus did not face waterlogging.
Institute administration’s response
The administration scheduled a meeting with students for Friday, but the article does not report a completed drainage or water-management measure.
- Institution
- Indian Statistical Institute
- Campus
- Bon Hooghly, on Calcutta’s northern fringes
- Hostels affected
- All five hostels
- Protest duration
- Two hours
- Water depth observed
- Knee-deep water around the hostels
- Administrative response
- Ravinder Kumar visited the hostels and promised a permanent solution, according to a student
- Next step
- A meeting with students at the director’s chamber was scheduled for Friday