With APOGEE approaching in just a few days, the APOGEE English Press sat down with G.V.S. Chaitanya, the coordinator for the Department of Firewallz, in order to gain  insights into their work for the upcoming fest.

Chaitanya explained that Firewallz was responsible for all security-related activities during the fest. This included carrying out the registrations for all the stakeholders of the fest—from outstation participants (outsties) to food stall operators. Additionally, Firewallz had taken up the responsibility of night patrols during the concerts. 

Chaitanya remarked that the pre-fest preparations had turned into a fun and bonding experience with his juniors. He explained that the work had begun right after the mid-semester examinations. Further delving into the nature of their job, he noted that Firewallz regularly coordinated with other departments including Controlz, ADP, and PCrA, in order to obtain the necessary permits from the BITS administration. ‘We’ve had to perform numerous guesstimates to make adequate arrangements for the guests,’ he added.

When the fest’s immense financial constraints and budget cuts were brought up, Chaitanya commended CoStAA, ‘They (CoStAA) have done a great job in organising the fest successfully despite the issues. Working with them and the coordinators of other clubs and departments has been really smooth.’

In further conversation, Chaitanya mentioned that the department had faced issues after the campus entry point for all fest visitors had been shifted from the main gate to the BEED gate. The BEED gate is located approximately 1.5 km away from the department’s booth, which sits near FD-1. This had not only generated additional transport and logistics costs but had also been inefficient during BOSM’24 and Oasis’24. However, he felt that they had gained significant experience operating with this new model and would be able to deal with any issues efficiently. Apart from this, there had been various delays in obtaining the necessary clearances and inventory due to financial issues. 

Despite the setbacks, Chaitanya expressed that they had prepared well this year. He acknowledged his first-year juniors as his most valuable assets, commenting that ‘the bonding was pivotal in ensuring good quality work’.