_ap_ufes{"success":true,"siteUrl":"dubeat.com","urls":{"Home":"https://dubeat.com","Category":"https://dubeat.com/category/admission-season/","Archive":"https://dubeat.com/2023/03/","Post":"https://dubeat.com/2023/03/24/sfi-alleges-attack-on-members-at-du-lit-fest/","Page":"https://dubeat.com/events/my-bookings/","Attachment":"https://dubeat.com/2023/03/24/sfi-alleges-attack-on-members-at-du-lit-fest/dulitfest_1-1/","Nav_menu_item":"https://dubeat.com/2023/02/04/72831/","Custom_css":"https://dubeat.com/2023/02/25/cheerup/","Wp_global_styles":"https://dubeat.com/2023/01/06/wp-global-styles-twentytwentythree/","Amp_validated_url":"https://dubeat.com/amp_validated_url/3edc31d68a52316e9adb387cf6a5a0f1/","Wpcf7_contact_form":"https://dubeat.com/?post_type=wpcf7_contact_form&p=52312","Mec-events":"https://dubeat.com/events/yearly-on-august-20th-and-21st/","Mec_calendars":"https://dubeat.com/mec_calendars/masonry-view/"}}_ap_ufee hostel Archives - DU Beat - Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper
Ad
Ad
Ad
Tag

hostel

Browsing

During the lockdown, Delhi University students have been asked to vacate the Northeastern Students House for Women in Dhaka Complex, North Campus, and out of many that have left, 13 are left stranded in the hostel, with nowhere go.

Amid COVID-19 lockdown, Provost Rita Singh had asked students residing in the North Eastern Students House for Women in Dhaka Complex to vacate the hostel. Many students have left, however 13 are stranded in the hostel with no way to reach their homes in remote areas. The authorities stated the expiry of mess contract as the reason.

Christina Ering, President of Student Welfare Association stated, “This is mental harassment of students. In the past, she passed derogatory comments on Northeastern girls. Most of them are from the Northeast and finding a place to stay in Delhi is difficult for them otherwise. The hostel is the safest place for girls.” She also added that other hostels within the university such as Rajiv Gandhi Hostel and International Hostel for Women are functional.

Kholneikim Cindy Haokip, a resident of the hostel stated,“The last email from the Provost was on 8th May, where she said that the mess would function only till 31st May. She asked us to leave and arrange alternative accommodation. Whoever leaves must pack their valuables and move the rest of their belongings to another room and submit the key which is just unacceptable.”

The Provost responded by denying the allegations and stated that the students were not forced to vacate immediately. Mess workers had refused to come to work, and the authorities had asked the students to prepare themselves in case inter-state transport became functional.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh took to Twitter and stated that the issue regarding Northeastern students’ eviction has been sorted out and they need not vacate hostels as he has spoken to the Vice-Chancellor. In addition to this, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) issued a notice on receiving a complaint against the Provost of the hostel.

The 13 stranded students were allegedly subjected to racial discrimination, insensitivity and harassment by the Provost who has threatened to close down the mess as well. The commission has asked the varsity to keep into the account the needs of the students and has asked to provide all facilities. DCW chief Swati Maliwal stated that the commission has issued a notice to the university keeping in mind the seriousness of this situation. A report will be prepared by 15th May on the actions taken regarding the complaint along with measures taken to ensure that the students are comfortable in the hostel.

Feature Image Credits: Prag News

Suhani Malhotra

[email protected]

 

In response to deteriorating food quality, residents of the Hansraj College Hostel have boycotted the mess.

On 29th February 2020, the students of Hansraj College residing in the hostel decided to stop the consumption of food made in their mess and proceeded to lock the mess from outside. This action, they said, was taken in response to the poor quality of food they were being served for the past few weeks.

“For the past three weeks, the non-teaching staff (the mess workers) have been on strike. Since then, we haven’t been served food as per the menu. The mess now operates on a self-service basis, and we’re only being served basic food like rice and dal. The food quality is terrible. As a result, it was decided that we won’t have lunch from today, and while lunch was cooked, no one ate it and we went and locked the mess.” said Vinay Pratap Singh, a resident of the hostel and a student of Hansraj College.

The students then had a meeting with the warden where they laid down their demands. “We have multiple demands because there are a lot of problems, but our basic demand right now is a bringing back of normalcy. While we understand that mess workers cannot come back right now, we should at least be hiring new cooks from outside. This is also something that had been promised to us by the warden but hasn’t been done for the past seventeen days. This is a very serious problem because the food not being cooked properly is also negatively affecting people’s health. We won’t be wasting the already cooked food though, we’ve asked the warden to have the food given to needy through the Hansraj National Service Scheme (NSS)”, Vinay added.

The students met with the principal in the evening who tried to reach out to the Workers’ Union, who have declined to come back to work at the moment. What remains to be seen is how the administration responds to the demands and how these protests affect those made by the Staff Union. For the moment, though, the lockdown has been called off.

 Image Credits: Hansraj College Website

Khush Vardhan Dembla

[email protected]

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] 

Delhi High Court places an interim order against the new JNU Hostel manual and asks JNU administration to keep registration fees, reservations, and priorities according to the old manual.

On 28thOctober 2019, The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Administration unveiled a new hostel manual with extremely steep hostel fee hikes. The rationale given by the JNU administration was that the hostel fees had not been revised for 19 years. However, these overall fee hikes would have led to JNU becoming one of the most expensive central universities in the country. The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) held massive and continuous protests against the decision by the administration, stating that according to the University’s own annual reports, 40% of the students who come from lower income backgrounds would not be able to afford the revised fees and would have to pursue education elsewhere, if at all.

 

Earlier this week, the Delhi High Court has granted a major relief to the students of JNU upon hearing a petition filed by AIshe Ghosh, JNUSU President and other office bearers against the new hostel Manual. According to a legal update dated 24th January, 2020, from JNUSU. The High Court has directed the JNU Administration to:

Firstly, allow for registration at old rates, as per the previous hostel manual; for students yet to register. Secondly, extend the last date of registration for a week without late fine. Thirdly, apply reservations and priorities/benefits according to the old hostel manual. And lastly, to hold dialogue with the students in order to resolve the issue.

Justice Rajiv Shakdher, who was hearing the case, points out that “Government can’t get out of education. Government has to fund public education. The burden of paying the salaries of contractual workers is not on the students. Someone has to find the funds.”

The next hearing of the case will be held on 28thFebruary , 2020.

 

Feature Image Credits: The Print

 

Prabhanu Kumar Das

[email protected]

 

30th October, 2018, became a historically significant day for the Miranda House Girls’ Hostel, as the Hostel gates stayed open into the dawn, as the students protested outside. To celebrate the completion of one year to this day, and mandate authoritative action to allow the hostellers more liberty, another sit-in was organised by the Miranda House Girls’ Hostel residents.

The protest was led by Pinjra Tod, a student’s collective that works for secure, affordable and non-gender discriminatory accommodation for women across Delhi. 

The events of the said night happened in this chronological order: 

Activists of ‘Pinjra Tod: Break the Hostel Locks’ called for a protest outside the gates of Arts Faculty, Delhi University, on the night of October 30th, demanding that the Miranda House hostel curfew be rolled back completely. Earlier, on October 8th and 10th, Pinjra Tod had organised protest marches and all-night sit-ins in North Campus, Delhi University.

Previously, on October 10th, the activists of Pinjra Tod had given the deadline of October 30th to the University administration to accept all their demands. The Principal of Miranda House, Pratibha Jolly had talked to the protesters and listened to their demands, giving the assurance that the issues would be discussed by the administration, and appropriate measures would be taken.

Ishika, participant at the protest, a Miranda House student told DU Beat, “The protest began very calmly, there was no aggression or violence. The hostel committee and the principal cooperated well with us, and when demands were put forward, they agreed to all.”

Pratibha Jolly, Principal of Miranda House, in reply to Pinjra Tod said, “As a constituent college of University of Delhi we have been discussing the issue at the highest level.”

However, most of the demands were not met. The hostel curfew was extended from 8:30 PM to 9 PM only, with a few extra night-outs added and number of leaves increased. 

The college had put up notices stating that “due information must be given to the Hostel Administrative Staff before Night Out is availed. This must be duly recorded in the Leave Book.” 

An informal WhatsApp message had been circulated, which stated that the late-night timings will remain the same, and night leaves will be sanctioned on the same day only in case of emergency.

The student collective Pinjra Tod termed the extension of 30 minutes for hostels as a “joke” and demanded complete abolition of curfew timing at Miranda House. 

Pinjra Tod said, “This extension of half an hour is a cruel joke, another attempt at humiliating and infantilising the dignity, dreams and struggles of women students.”

The true reason for an intensified reaction to these rigorous hostel curfews was allegedly that the college had put up notices stating, “Residents can return to the hostel at any time of the night on a night-out and short-notice/ emergency night-outs can be availed by filling in a form at the gate and (there) is no need (for) one day advance notice,” which was far from the reality. 

Following the student’s protest, the students in defiance organised a sit-in that continued all night. The students protested outside the hostel gate and the gates of the hostel remained open. 

The agitators said, “These new changes are important relaxations in the existing rules, but we really refuse to get dragged into this bureaucratic non-sense, which continues to reinforce power in the hands of the administration.”

The series of protest led by Pinjra Tod, paves way for new meaning of freedom for many hostellers. 

Feature Image Credits: News Ink 

Chhavi Bahmba

[email protected]

 

The woman who was reported to have conducted a series of thefts from Delhi University’s Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) was arrested by the police on 2nd October.

A 34-year-old woman hailing from Nagpur, Maharashtra was arrested three weeks after the case of theft was reported from SRCC.

During the questioning she revealed that she had conducted similar thefts across colleges in metropolitan cities like Delhi and Mumbai as she “liked doing them”.

As per a senior police officer’s statement from The Indian Express, her arrest was made on 2nd October when she created commotion outside a hostel in Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi wherein she was denied entry by the guards. The issue escalated to an extent that a PCR call was made. Her actions were aggressive and unstable, observing which she was referred to the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS).

It was during her time at IHBAS that the police realised she was the same person responsible for the theft at SRCC and thus the police arrested her once she was released from IHBAS.

The woman had allegedly come inside the hostel rooms and stolen cash worth INR 3,000 and credit cards from which according to the police, transactions worth INR 50,000 were done.

The case was registered at the Maurice Nagar police station in North Delhi. According to the police, she was visiting Delhi and when she ran out of money, she went on to conduct the thefts at SRCC.

This case brought to light matter related to the safety of women in hostels. students from all parts of the country reside in the hostels as they complete their education, and such an incident poses a serious threat to their safety.

Prachi Nirwan, a second-year student from Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi, said, “Security is an issue which must be taken seriously be it girls’ hostels or boys’ hostel for that matter. Greater measures should be taken if a person entering the hostel is an outsider with proper background check and registration. There should be strict vigilance because hostel is a home away from home for the students who come to Delhi. They need to have this feeling that it (hostel) is a safe space for them.”

Feature Image Credits: Hitesh Kalra for DU Beat

Amrashree Mishra

[email protected]

Hostel dwellers of Hindu College protested in front of the Principal’s office against the new stricter criteria of attendance and GPA to be maintained to retain hostel accommodation in the second and third year by residents.

Recently, the newly-elected Students’ Union of Hindu College, led the protest against the hostel administration, as allegedly the college administration was threatening them by making calls to their families, and disciplinary action in terms of electricity cuts was imposed on the students.

The Union claims this was a protest to demand their rights. It was also said that these stricter rules were just to discourage the students to avail hostel facilities. The students also believe that the increase in fees of hostel facilities is just to pave way for privatisation of hostel in the coming years.

Delhi University (DU) Hostel for outstation students, who cannot afford the expensive PG life that Delhi has to offer, works as a suitable alternative. However, one must question the relevance of this protest.

Two years ago, the College Hostel administration had decided that only those who get above 6.0 CGPA in the Arts stream and 6.5 in the Science stream and who have above 67 per cent attendance will be able to retain their hostel accommodation.

Last year the it had been increased from 6 to 6.5 for the Arts stream and from 6.5 to 7.0 for science stream and the attendance criteria had also been increased to 75 per cent.

Many students were affected by this criterion, as it was stricter and student weren’t made aware of this earlier. However, no immediate protest took place.

There are few arguments that show this protest as a political move than a liberal one.

A Hindu College student who lives in the boys’ hostel, under conditions of anonymity told DU Beat, “The protest is not for the rights of the students. As the students of this year were well aware of the new rules as mentioned in our undertaking. The GPA and attendance criteria were mentioned.”

The Statement of undertaking is a legal binding document that is made signed by each hostel dweller. It is done so to make the students accountable for the conditions they have agreed on to avail hostel facilities.

As all the students had signed the undertaking in their complete senses, without any use of force, their right to protest against the rules is invalid legally.

Other than this, what is more astounding is the fact that when these rules were first implemented a year back, no protest or resistance took place, neither by the hostel dwellers nor the student union. The sudden need for protest raises questions of the intention of the protest.

Whether the protest was necessary or not, one must not forget that the hostel facility is the only way many outstation students can afford to study in DU.

For the update on the protest that took place, another student in anonymity told DU Beat, “There was only one protest by the newly elected Students’ Union and the other inmates. It was just really a one-evening-thing, and was resolved (called off) when they finally discussed the issue with the Principal.”

 

 

Feature Image Credits:  Yaksh Handa for DU beat

 

Chhavi Bahmba 

[email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just as the Jammu and Kashmir Girls Hostel of Jamia Millia Islamia is about to complete one year of its inauguration, 11 workers of the hostel were sacked arbitrarily without any prior information.

The workers including mess bearers, sanitation workers, and caretakers have allegedly complained regarding the impeachment and new appointments of the staff, claiming it to be deceptive and originating from personal relations with the newly appointed provost. 

Apparently, this year also marks the appointment of seperate provosts for both the hostels of the BHM Hall of Girls Residence, the entire staff including the wardens has undergone a similar change, making many people skeptical about the appointment procedures. 

Many students residing in the hostel have expressed their grievances regarding the new rules coming into effect with these appointments, the strain of formalities is extremely burdensome with the students being accountable for every minute of entry and exit. Where the suspension of the work staff  has augmented a feeling of envy towards the authority, although the workers impeached from their duties came in a sudden response, the authorities claim that they were hired on a contractual basis and had hints regarding the removal.

Furthermore, the new recruitments are under due procedures necessitated for appointment of hostel staff, the appointment of male staff for sanitation works seems heretic to the safety and privacy of the female students of the hostel. 

The job in country’s premier Central University comes without any security is equally concerning to which one of the students responded as such, “If the workers and staff of the hostel is not secured, how are we as students going to be safe here,”

Where most of the workers were asked to discontinue their services from the very moment, one of the workers was even asked to depart within a day, failing which she was compelled to leave by the action of force and guards coming into play. 

Meanwhile, as no clear statement is availed from the administration, they are inconsiderate towards the plea of the chucked workers. The reaction to it with new recruitments still remains a big question, nothing can be clearly interpreted with regarding to this issue. 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat.

On 12th September, while the University of Delhi (DU) was getting ready to elect their new Students’ Union, the Shri Ram Memorial Girls’ Hostel was trespassed into by a stranger who went on to steal money and debit cards from the rooms.

The incident came into light when a first-year student realised that her debit card had gone missing. Subsequently, she received messages informing her that an amount of INR 50,000 had already been withdrawn from her account. In addition to this, a cash amount of INR 2000 was missing from her room and her roommate also lost an amount of INR 1000. A resident from another room also reported her debit card to be missing.

When the residents realised the gravity of the theft, the warden was approached on the 12th itself for permission to access the CCTV footage. However, neither the warden nor the assistant warden approached the students until two days after the theft on 14th September.

The footage showed a stranger entering the hostel at 1:40 p.m. which falls within the lunch hour for the residents. The stranger is said to have confidently walked past the guard stationed at the gate and into the hostel. They then checked every room on the ground floor of the hostel and finally, on finding an empty room, went in and stole students’ belongings. A few students noticed the stranger in the hallway but didn’t find cause to worry as they did not seem lost. They assumed it was a relative of the warden or someone who was let in with permission due to their confidence.

A student also remembers walking into the washroom to find the stranger there. They behaved very casually and mentioned that they would be out in a minute. The stranger then walked upstairs to the first floor and followed the same process of entering all the rooms, possibly looking for something else to steal. Finally, only when the stranger was leaving the hostel did the guard notice them. When questioned by the guard, the stranger quickly ran out of the gate. The guard did not follow the stranger despite the incriminating run and did not make any effort to alert the students or the warden’s office of what he had seen.

Although the stranger was dressed as a woman, the students were subsequently informed that the stranger had previously allegedly entered the college three times. A worker in the college canteen mentioned that he had noticed a similar-looking man.

On viewing the footage, a third-year student claims to have seen the stranger enter the college premises with a campaigning group for the Delhi University Students’ Union elections.

IMG-20190914-WA0029

Reaction of the authorities:

The guard on duty, when confronted regarding the incident, apologised and mentioned that he was asleep when the stranger entered the hostel. It is also important to mention that the two male guards appointed as security in the hostel do not belong to a formal security service.

When the local guardian of the aggrieved student approached the warden’s office, he was informed that the college would file a First Information Report (FIR) on Monday, four days after the theft. The Principal also assured the students’ parents that required actions would be taken. The only step taken to reassure the students regarding their safety was a meeting where the warden reminded the students to be responsible for their belongings. She also requested the third-year students to pacify the juniors and try to contain their fear related to the incident. “This was an accident. It’s a simple matter, no need to worry,” she added.

The incident has not been reported to a higher authority and no immediate changes have been pursued to make the hostel safer for the female students.

Impending fear among the students

The ease with which a complete stranger could enter their private space has shocked all of the residents of the hostel. There is a growing concern that the security currently present is not effective enough. “It is very shocking to acknowledge the fact that a college hostel with two security filters witnessed such an incident. The hostel is supposed to be one of the safest and most secure places in the campus and most of us are afraid to roam around freely in this building now,” a senior student said. The students are additionally very disheartened with the reaction of the hostel authorities, “Safety for the girls here is just limited to locking us within the hostel at 8:30 p.m. Rest anything else is considered to be an “accident” or an “issue being created unnecessarily.” If this is the condition of the hyped premium hostel of an equally hyped institute then I dread the future of women safety.”

The students have since been organising meetings within themselves so they can suggest constructive measures for their safety to the administration. However, they doubt whether the administration will take this matter seriously.

The SRCC Girls Hostel has been plagued with problems and arbitrary decision making since the beginning of the year. To accommodate the increase of student intake due to the Economically Weaker Section quota, the college turned their hostel dining hall into two classrooms without providing them with another alternative. The girls temporarily make use of one of the rooms for meals but due to lack of space, it gets extremely crowded and some of them do not get a seat during the meals.  The administration has not specified when they intend to make an eating space available for the residents.

This absolute ignorance on the part of the administration is grossly unjustified. The girls hostel of SRCC is deeply problematic, housing half the number of students as compared to the boys hostel. I’m addition to this, students lack proper dining facilities. As if this weren’t enough, they now have to worry about their safety living inside the campus. The purpose of such a hostel then comes to question as it fails to provide all of the necessary services.

 

Feature Image Credits: Shri Ram College of Commerce

 

Pragati Thapa

[email protected]

 

The student body of Aam Aadmi Party, Chatra Yuva Sangharsh Samithi ( CYSS) has been on an indefinite hunger strike.

 

The hunger strike that started on the 27th of this month, outside the Arts Faculty has been continuing for the last 48 hours. It is being organised with respect to demanding the fulfilment of various needs put up by the Student wing.

The demands being

1. Hostels for all students

2.Equal fees for all colleges in the university

3.Re-examination for students in the same year if failed.

4.A 24-hour library facility

5.Elections through ballot paper.

DU Beat was able to speak to Mr Chandramani Dev who is the state committee Vice President of CYSS. He had this to say, ” The re-examination of students who are not able to clear their examinations used to happen the same year earlier. This system was later changed. It puts a lot of pressure on the students. Thus it’s important that this system is brought back so that the students do not have to waste a year”.

He also started the reasons for demanding ballot based vote ” Last year I had contested to be the joint secretary of DUSU, I was winning till the sixth round after which there was a five-hour-long electricity cut. When the results were announced I had lost. The voting machines were tampered with and that clearly cancels out the spirit of DU elections. Thus we have been demanding to bring back ballot system.”

Politicians like Mr Harsh Bansal also came to Arts Faculty to meet the students.

CYSS had decided to not participate in the elections for DUSU this year stating that they will only participate if the ballot term is brought back.

 


 

Stephen Mathew

[email protected]