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Miranda House to Build 120-Bed Hostel for EWS and PwD Students Through CSR Funding

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The Miranda house hostel designed by the renowned architect Walter George, with the foundation stone laid by Lady Edwina Mountbatten, houses 370 students in nearly 180 rooms.

Miranda House is set to expand its residential capacity with a 120-bed hostel reserved for students from economically weaker sections and persons with disabilities, to be funded through CSR support.

Miranda House is planning a 120-bed hostel exclusively for students from economically weaker sections and persons with disabilities, a move that would take the college’s total residential capacity from around 370 seats to nearly 490.

The proposed hostel will come up at the rear of the existing hostel complex within the college campus. It will be funded through Corporate Social Responsibility support, and construction is expected to take around two years once the college receives the necessary approvals from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and other competent authorities. An artist’s impression of the project is expected to be ready within the next two weeks, after which design and planning work will move forward.

Principal Bijayalaxmi Nanda said the new hostel is aimed at improving access to higher education for students who often face financial and accessibility challenges. She said it would provide significant relief to girls coming to Delhi from other states for their studies. The hostel will have study rooms, internet connectivity, a dining hall, common areas, and secure residential facilities.

The expansion addresses a gap that has persisted for years. DU admits over 71,600 undergraduate students every year across its colleges, while the university and individual colleges together have only a fraction of that number in hostel seats. At Miranda House, hostel applications significantly outnumber available seats each year, pushing many students, particularly those from outside Delhi, towards rented accommodation at considerably higher costs.

Reserving the new hostel specifically for EWS and PwD students reflects a recognition that these two groups face the sharpest difficulty in securing affordable on-campus housing. For a lot of students, the cost of private accommodation in North Campus frequently runs higher than their total annual college fees.

Read Also: St Stephen’s Formalises Century-Old Shorts Restriction Under New Principal

Image Source: Miranda house official

Abhishek Goverdhan
[email protected]

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Campus Central

CM Rekha Gupta Pledges Infrastructure Push for Delhi University at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College’s Diamond Jubilee

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Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta at the Diamond Jubilee curtain-raiser of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College.

Speaking at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College’s Diamond Jubilee curtain raiser, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta laid out plans for hostels, a subsidised canteen and expanded bus connectivity for Delhi University, alongside a college proposal for a dedicated girls’ hostel.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta spoke at the curtain raiser for Shaheed Bhagat Singh College’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations on Thursday, where she outlined infrastructure commitments for Delhi University, asserting that a nation’s progress rests on how well it invests in its youth and the quality of its education system.

According to Gupta, the state government has prioritised upgrading academic infrastructure and student housing to position Delhi as a hub for higher education. A hostel for Delhi University students on the upcoming Indira Gandhi University campus is reportedly among the measures being considered, though the proposal is yet to be finalised.

Gupta further confirmed that the university will get an Atal Canteen from August 16, offering meals at Rs 5, alongside 50 additional U-Special bus routes for the university’s students.

The Chief Minister urged students to play an active part in nation-building and encouraged colleges to partner with surrounding communities to support local children in pursuing their ambitions. She described the creativity and drive of India’s younger generation as key to realising the goals of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ and a ‘Viksit Delhi’.

Separately, the college’s administration used the occasion to press for a girls’ hostel of its own, proposing that Shaheed Bhagat Singh Evening College be shifted to an alternative site to free up its current premises for the new facility. College representatives said many of its female students commute from outside Delhi, and that the lack of on-campus housing continues to affect their safety and continuity of studies.

The event also featured a virtual walkthrough of the college’s history, along with Gupta’s unveiling of a year-long Diamond Jubilee events calendar and a QR code granting access to the institution’s digital archives. Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh and college Principal Arun Kumar Attree were reportedly among those in attendance.

Image Credits: Usha Parewa, Haribhoomi.com 

Read Also: CIC Directs DU to Consider Maintaining OCI Admission Records

Vidhi Ramchandani

[email protected]

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Campus Central

DU College Charges Students for Hostels

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Read on to find out the plights of students from a student of Delhi University (DU). This piece gives an insight into how different colleges withing our University are dealing with the pandemic. 

In these intense or rather stressful times of COVID-19 when the students are sceptical about their college and future and the college should take some actions to calm the students down. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College (DDUC) of Delhi University is paying no heed to any of these issues and moreover still using their tactful ways to bother and impose irrelevant obligations on them.

The hostel administration of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College is forcing the students to pay their quarter fees while no one is residing in the hostel. In these stressful times of lockdown when no one is allowed to go out and the financial conditions are not in good shape, the administration is forcing the residents to pay the quarter fee. The fee for the facilities (water and electricity) no one is consuming.

Moreover, the administration has denied answering any queries of the students or parents regarding this matter saying “no clarification would be issued in this matter. It is a compulsory fee and needs to be paid”. If not paid there is an imposition of INR 50 per day as a penalty. And this amount would not be refunded to the students. The very fact that this all is happening even after the orders of the government for asking for any further fee is saddening. This just another way of extracting money for these capitalist institutions. This sense of torture from the hostel authorities is now affecting us personally, with following a different set of rules for girls and boys’ hostels for handling situations.

This is just not it; the students of this college are suffering from the start of this academic session and this is just a chain of events that has led us to this point. The residents of the hostel have been facing such problems from the start of this academic session. After not having had got any answer from the authorities the residents resorted to the action of putting up a strike for the basic needs against the administration. But this was dismissed by the principal by the threat of suspension.

The union council elections were also suspended by the administration which is the basic entity for getting our voice to the ears of the authorities. The cancelling of union defeats the purpose of decent and our say of asking any questions. There is no transparency in any sort of matter.

All these add up to a totalitarian rule of the principal and other authorities which is suppressing the students and hostel residents, leading to no other option left to get our voice reached to the people. These links are for the support of the prior strike held against the authorities.

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Campus Central

AGSHW Students Not Allowed to Enter Hostel Premises

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Amidst the coronavirus lockdown, while many University of Delhi (DU) students are enjoying a vacation at their home, there are still many who could not make it home in time, and thus, are forced to stay in Delhi under unbearable conditions.

In a recent notice released on the University’s website, it was made clear to all of the students residing in any hostel of DU that there would be necessities provided to them even during the indefinite countrywide lockdown. But the story so far for the residents of Ambedkar Ganguly Students House for Women (AGSHW) has been completely different.

According to the recent information being circulated over social media, Amisha Nanda, a student residing in AGSHW could not enter the hostel even after constant appeals to the authorities. The security guards were instructed by the Provost to throw out any student trying to enter. The provost, Dr Anu Aggarwal stands unmoved to the requests by the students. Students are not able to get basic amenities like food and electricity in the hostel.

Before this, on 20th March 2020, the residents were evacuated on the grounds of a lockdown being initiated and other hostels of DU also being shut down. The notice from the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) came the very next day, which was opposite to what the authorities had been saying.

But the clash between the authorities and residents of AGSHW is not new, there had been protests in the Dhaka Complex since late February 2020, over the problematic statements by Dr K Ratnabali such as “a girl’s body is a mystery”. Amisha is facing disciplinary action for the same and the parents of many students are being called up for the same. While talking to DU Beat, Amisha said, “The series of hostel authorities being vindictive is never-ending. They casually dismiss from the job the contract workers and they would still do everything so as to corner me or the other residents who would want to stay (in the hostel).”

As for the current scenario, Amisha said, “As of now, I am still locked inside. If they’re following the government order, they better first fulfill the condition that accompanies that is proper accommodation and essential facilities. Quarantining is not a problem.”

The students, while understanding that proper precautions need to be taken to prevent the coronavirus, demand a hostel with proper living conditions and basic living amenities, for the guards to not lose their job and for the hostel to provide shelter to all the residents, even if there are only a few residing in the hostel.

 

Featured Image Credits: Delhi University Official Website

Akshat Arora

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Campus Central

DUSU Requests Authorities to Look After Hostellers

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Owing to the threat posed by the spread of COVID-19, DUSU has requested the Dean of Students’ Welfare to take necessary steps for the safety of students living in hostels.

In order to ensure the safety of students living in Hostels of various colleges and departments, Ashish Lamba, Secretary of the Union, sent a letter to the Dean of Students’ Welfare (DSW) on Thursday. He requested the Dean to take necessary steps in order to ensure the well-being of these students, as the threat of infection looms large over everyone.

Through the letter, the Secretary informed the Dean about the complaints he received from students living in hostels. Such students might have complained about inadequate facilities to counter the dissemination of the disease. He requested the authorities to look after the living spaces, meals, sanitation, and availability of medical equipment for the safety of all students. The NSUI leader also requested the authorities to prepare themselves for a health emergency of any kind.

Chetna Tyagi, Leader, NSUI said, “NSUI did send a letter to the Dean of students welfare regarding the students who are stuck in PGs and hostels for proper food facilities and sanitation, and to provide them with travelling facilities to reach their hometown after the lockdown since the situation is getting serious these days. So there is a need to help the students urgently”.

NSUI also issued a public statement regarding the same, which demanded the authorities to ensure proper arrangements for students residing in hostels. It also demanded the DSW to ask the Government of Delhi for special permission for the students who wish to go home.

Dev Narayan, a student of Ramjas College, said, “I am a hosteller. My train got cancelled amid COVID-19. Circumstances compelled me to stay in the hostel. Firstly we were not allowed to stay by college authorities despite the risk that if we step outside the hostel, we might expose ourselves to the virus. The notice from MHRD saved us according to which we were allowed to stay. Still, we are facing issues of sanitation and mess  facilities.”

Another student, in the condition of anonymity, said, “We completely agree with the statement made by NSUI. Students should be provided with all the basic necessities during this lockdown period.”

NSUI National Secretary Nikhil Kamble states, “We know this is tough time for all but we are trying our level best to resolve it. We have demanded universities to provide proper meals and sanitiser for the students who have been stucked in hostels and PG’s. soon we will start to raise volunteering students relief fund from NSUI office bearers to provide help for socially and economically backward class students who have been affected during this corona virus lockdown.”

Numerous students are stuck in Hostels as there is a complete lockdown in the capital. Restrictions on public transport have disabled these students from going back home. A video made by residents of the hostel of Ramjas College surfaced online about a week ago, through which the students complained that they were being forcefully evicted, despite the unavailability of public transport.

Several hostels were shut and students were asked to leave before the lockdown itself. This includes hostels of Hansraj, IPCW, Venkateswara and LSR, among others. The letter sent by the secretary requests the relevant authorities to look after the students who are still living in these hostels, as the nation is under a blanket lockdown now.

Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Kuber Bathla

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Bazinga

Bazinga: DU to Offer Hostel Facility for NCR Students

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The University of Delhi (DU) has decided to provide hostel facility to students from Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region). 

On Monday, 11th February 2020, DU released an official notice stating the provision of hostel facility to students from Delhi-NCR. The notice further mentioned that students from the NCR under ECA and Sports quota shall not be eligible to avail the facility. The Varsity’s decision comes as a respite especially to students from Noida, Gurugram, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, and Faridabad as most students from these areas do not prefer commuting for 2-4 hours everyday.

Yogesh K. Tyagi, Vice Chancellor told DU Beat, “The University administration has taken this decision as a step towards shaping DU as a more student-friendly space. However, we have received some concerns about the same. We are looking into the matter.”

Deeksha Sharma, a student of Hansraj College said, “Many of my friends from Faridabad including myself, wrote letters to the administration of DU to express our problem- the menace of travelling everyday. I am delighted to receive a positive response.”

Reha Biswass, a first year student at Lady Shri Ram College for Women added, “I come from Greater Noida, it takes two hours to reach college. The interchange stations and missing of metros by a second are truly tormenting. I am glad to know that our juniors shall not have to face it.”

The decision has also sprouted dissent. Uday Bhardwaj, a student at Hindu College said, “I feel that students from areas adjoining Delhi know more about this place than outstation students like us. It would be difficult for outstation students to settle in the absence of hostels, given that the seats in hostels are limited.”  Many students also expressed their concerns about the exclusion of students from ECA and Sports Quota from the provision.

Meghaa Balin, a first year student at Ramjas College emphasised upon the exclusion, “I got my admission through Sports Quota. The distance between my college and my home- Faridabad, is same as that of a student from Faridabad who secured her admission through merit basis. How is my inconvenience not taken into account?”  The Sports Association of some colleges like Hindu College, Hansraj College and Kirori Mal College have put forth their concerns to the administration. A response is awaited.

The notice will come into practice during the year’s academic session i.e May-June 2020 Kindly check the DU website for details.

Disclaimer: Bazinga is our weekly column of almost believable fake news. It is only to be appreciated and not accepted!

Feature Image Credits: Deewanshi Vats for DU Beat

Priyanshi Banerjee

[email protected] 

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