Fire Guts College Library in Mumbai, Alumni Come Forward to Help

Classes will begin next week & the incident will affect students as furniture, computers and books were destroyed.

Classes will begin next week & the incident is likely to affect them as furniture, computers, books were destroyed. (Photo: @Roochster)

The library of the Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Education (SIMSREE) was gutted in a fire which broke out on the college premises on Christmas morning, as reported by Hindustan Times.

Classes are going to resume next week and the incident is likely to affect students and faculty as furniture, computers and books on the third floor of the institute were destroyed in the fire.

The fire started at around 5:20 am and fire tenders rushed to the spot, dousing the fire until 7:30 am. Officials have said that a short-circuit was the likely cause of the fire. However, this is yet to be ascertained.

The entire floor will have to be cordoned off for some time. Students are on a term break at present, but once classes begin on January 2, we will need to find classrooms. We are yet to assess the total damage.

College Official

As it was a holiday, there weren’t too many people and the situation was easily managed.

Officials said that the floor security was the first to notice smoke coming from the library, who then called the fire department. Yet, the fire spread too rapidly and there was considerable damage to the library.

Alumni Lend Helping Hand

The members of Sydenham Institute of Management Alumni Association (SIMAA) will not only help their college rebuild the library but have come forward to replace books within a week as an immediate relief measure.

Since our second and fourth semester students will need books for their exams next year, SIMAA has assured us that books for them will be their first priority. It’s heartening to see so many alumnus pledging to help.

Prathik Shetty, Joint Chairperson, SMA

Additionally, they will know the extent of the damage by Monday evening and decide on the best course of action.

“Even classes cannot be held on the same floor anytime soon, so we will come up with an alternative,” Shetty said.

They also plan to seek help from the government as the college is a government run institution.

Source: Hindustan Times