Pune:
Students and faculty members of the University of Pune are now strangely guarded every time they want to use the washroom.
A notice pasted above the door of a men's washroom started it all with the warning that users were under CCTV surveillance.
The notice in Marathi says, "
Saavdhan! He toilet closed circuit TV
niyantranakhali aahe."
The warning is a hoax, put up by Dr Manohar Jadhav, head of the Marathi Department, to keep theft under control. It seems to be working for now, and in more ways than originally intended -- people are keeping washrooms cleaner than before and even the genius of wall scrawlers seems to have dried up.
The university has been grappling with the problem of petty theft in various departments that dot its 411-acre campus.
"We were fed up of people stealing tubelights, emergency lamps and such from the department. Even taps in the toilets would be missing," said Jadhav. "It is the same in other departments, especially in the Humanities building or Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Bhawan."
Jadhav said they were compelled to put up the notice because taps, pipes and mirrors inside the toilets went missing.
"Since we recently renovated the toilet at a cost of Rs 7 lakh, we had to take some precautionary measure," said Jadhav. "We spoke to the vice-chancellor and hit upon this unique idea."
Noted Marathi writer Niranjan Ghate recently visited the Marathi Department and was amused to see the notice. He joked, "I want to face the camera!"
Now, other departments have also decided to put up similar notices to bring down theft.
When contacted Dr Arun Adsul, acting vice-chancellor, said security on campus had become a concern.
"We cannot install CCTV cameras in all the departments. But the notice outside the men's toilet is indirectly helping inculcate good values and practices," said Adsul. "We are planning to install cameras at strategic locations, including the university gates, hostels and public places such as common corridors and around some toilets. This will help create proper discipline on the campus."
Nana Gavhane and Umesh Shirsat, students of the Marathi Department, said the notice put up six months ago had created quite a stir.
They said there was much debate and discussion among students on whether the notice was just a trick or there really were CCTV cameras after all. They said students were now "full of tension" going into any bathroom on campus.
Lata Londhe and Rupali More, two post-graduation students, said they no longer felt safe walking into the ladies' room.
"We are worked up. We are not sure whether the CCTV cameras are really there or not," said More.