Mata Sundari College Archives - DU Beat - Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper

Ceiling panels reportedly collapsed at Mata Sundari College, raising concerns over DU campus infrastructure. No injuries were reported.

A portion of the ceiling in a washroom at Mata Sundari College for Women (MSCW), University of Delhi, reportedly collapsed earlier this week. No injuries have been reported in connection with the incident.

A video circulating on social media shows multiple ceiling panels and pieces of the ceiling scattered across the washroom floor, with portions of the overhead structure appearing to have come loose. The footage also shows sections of the ceiling exposed following the collapse. The exact location of the washroom within the college premises could not be independently verified.

The incident has raised fresh concerns over infrastructure and maintenance in Delhi University colleges, particularly as it comes days after a similar infrastructure-related incident was reported at Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR).

While the two incidents occurred at different colleges, both have drawn attention to the condition and maintenance of facilities within DU campuses. Questions surrounding the regular inspection of ceilings, fixtures and other structural components remain relevant, particularly in spaces frequented by large numbers of students.

Mata Sundari College has previously faced concerns regarding campus infrastructure. Student reviews of the college have referred to issues including poorly maintained classrooms and other facilities, although such reviews do not establish the cause of Saturday’s incident.

No official statement from the college administration regarding the cause of the ceiling collapse, whether the affected washroom has been closed, or whether an inspection of the premises has been undertaken was available at the time of publication.

The incident adds to a longer-running concern over infrastructure at Delhi University colleges. Similar instances of ceiling or fixture failures have been reported across the university in previous years. With no injuries reported in the Mata Sundari College incident, the immediate impact appears limited. However, the recurrence of infrastructure-related incidents across university campuses raises questions about preventive maintenance and whether potentially unsafe facilities are being identified before failures occur.

Image Source: Collegebatch.com

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Sheetal Mishra
sheetalmishra.1703@gmail.com

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The Delhi High Court has passed the plea filed by Mata Sundari College for Women to allow the four minority colleges to exempt the 27% reserved seats for the students from Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

The minority colleges include Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, Guru Gobind Singh College, and Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College including Mata Sundari College for Women. These colleges come under Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), constituted under the Delhi Sikh Gurdwaras Act.

In August 2011, the above mentioned colleges won minority status which allowed them to exempt 50% reservation from other categories. Earlier this week Mata Sundari College for Women appealed to the High Court to exempt the 27% OBC quota.

In response to why only the OBC quota has been removed, Dr. Kawaljit Kaur, principal of the college said, “It is the order of the court. As the minority status has not been confirmed yet, we had to seek for the exemption from the court for the OBC quota. As of now, only temporary relief has been given to the college only for this year. Till now, we have not received any order in written from the court. We have only read about this in the newspaper.”

According to her, the OBC reservation should not be applicable to the minority institutions because their management is seeking for a minority status under which 50% can be reserved for their own minority but the college does not plan to remove SC/ST quota.“We have been admitting SC/ST and People with disability (PWD) students all this time and we will continue this practice.” She said.

Since the 27% seats from the OBC quota have been exempted, Dr. Kawaljit Kaur said that these seats will now be distributed among the General category candidates.“Since it has not been confirmed, we will be admitting minority students with a little relaxation in their marks as per the previous years.” She added.

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