IIT Bombay Cancels Pre-Registrations For Mood Indigo Events, Cancels Entry For Outsiders

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay's (IITB) annual cultural festival, Mood Indigo, on Wednesday announced the cancellation of all pre-registrations for its events and stopped entry for all outsiders except the competition participants and IIT Bombay residents for two days.

In a post on X, the organisers wrote, "All pre-registrations for Mood Indigo events at IIT Bombay are cancelled and entry for any outsider (except the competition participants and IIT Bombay residents) is stopped for today and tomorrow." [sic]

The entry for any outsider has been stopped for today and tomorrow, (Dec. 16 and 17) with exceptions only for registered competition participants and IIT Bombay residents.

This decision comes at a time when the campus is buzzing with preparations for Asia’s largest college cultural festival, which typically attracts massive crowds from across the country.

While the organisers have not provided a detailed explanation for the sudden restrictions, sources suggested that the move could be linked to crowd management and security concerns due to the heavy rush of traffic in and around Powai, where the IIT-B campus is located.

The Powai area of Mumbai suffered from extreme traffic woes on Tuesday, affecting daily commuters, outsiders and residents alike. The enraged public posted their frustrations on social media with some of them claiming that it is taking multiple hours to cover distances which are routinely commutable in about 30 minutes.

Mumbai Traffic Police addressed the matter through a post on X, and underlined that the movement is slow because of an IIT college event. "Traffic movement is slow at Powai IIT MainGate (Sakinaka) due to college student event (sic)," the post read.

IIT Bombay is currently hosting its annual cultural festival called 'Mood Indigo' which has reportedly led to congestion at the road ahead of the main gates.

Mood Indigo, popularly known as Mood-I, has been a flagship event of IIT Bombay for decades. It is celebrated for its vibrant mix of music, art, and cultural showcases. The festival usually witnesses participation from hundreds of colleges and features international artists, making it one of the most anticipated events on the student calendar.