Hyderabad: A drinking water shortage at RGUKT Basara in Nirmal district has forced the university to move classes online. The administration has issued a revised academic schedule after extending the recent Dasara holidays over the water problem.
Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies has released an online, blended and hybrid-mode schedule for Semester-I of 2026-27. Under the revised plan, online classes for students from PUC-I to E-4 will begin on Monday.
The university has decided to complete the prescribed syllabus through online classes until November 17. It has also issued separate guidelines on the dates when students should return to the campus. The administration sought cooperation from students over the decision. It said the measure was taken in view of conditions caused by the El Nino effect.
The drinking water problem has become significant because about 9,000 students study at the Basara IIIT campus. The institution is understood to require nearly 25 lakh litres of water every day. The campus receives water from the Godavari river through an intake well. However, a problem developed in one of the three motors used for the water supply system.
Officials found that the available supply would not be sufficient. The shortage is understood to have prompted the administration to extend the holidays recently.
Motor repairs fail to resolve the water shortage
The water problem can be addressed only when all three motors in the sump in the Godavari river operate properly. However, all three motors there had developed faults. After the Dasara holidays ended, repairs were carried out on one motor. Water is now being pumped from the Godavari through the intake well into a pond on the campus. However, filling the pond with just one functioning motor has made it difficult to maintain adequate supply. The available water is not enough to meet the campus requirement when thousands of students return.
Several people have said the present supply is sufficient only for the teaching staff. As a result, bringing students back to the campus immediately would put further pressure on the limited water available.
The university has therefore opted to continue academic work online while dealing with the supply problem. Classes from PUC-I through E-4 will follow the newly released schedule, while the online syllabus plan will remain in force until November 17.
The administration has separately laid down instructions for students on returning to campus. The revised arrangement combines online, blended and hybrid teaching for the first semester of the 2026-27 academic year.