Kozhikode : Classes at the National Institute of Technology, Calicut (NIT-C) here have been temporarily suspended owing to the attack on the administrative block and breaking of drinking water supply pipes allegedly by activists of the Students Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) on Monday night.

Officials of the institute said the repair works of the pipelines were being carried out on a war footing since the disruption of water supply affected more than 2,000 students staying in the 12 hostels, including three women's hostels on the campus.

Supply of water stored in the tanks was also restricted from Monday night. Hostels could not be closed down all of a sudden since 50 per cent of the students were from outside the State, officials said.

Classes were not held on Tuesday. The college would reopen on Wednesday afternoon if the repair works were completed. Water was supplied to the college from a nearby river.

The police said NIT-C Director Ginjala Rama Chandra Reddy submitted a complaint before the Kunnamangalam police station about the untoward incidents. Apart from destroying the windowpanes of the administrative block and breaking the pipelines, the miscreants also ransacked three hostel rooms.

Officials said that a local SFI leader entered the campus hostel at night and tried to convene a meeting to which other students objected. The wardens of the hostel asked him to leave the campus. Later, a group of persons allegedly belonging to the SFI and DYFI threw stones at the administrative block and destroyed the water pipes.

Interestingly, these incidents took place when the police were present in front of the main gate. Now a large posse of policemen led by Assistant Commissioner of Police C.M. Pradeep Kumar is camping at the institute.

The classes would also have to be continued till the third week of April.

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