At the beginning of the month, all the senior student residents of the Delhi University's Lady Shri Ram College for Women hostel were sent a message by the administration, asking them to vacate their rooms by October 31. It also said that the hostel will only be allotted to freshmen. At the same time, the college's Students' Union has raised its voice against it, stating that the decision is undemocratic.
"In 2019, there was a prior notification that said that the hostel will be allotted only to the freshmen. This violates section 33 of the Delhi University Act," says Unnimaya, the Students' Union Convenor. "Following resistance, we were given a verbal assurance that the second-year students can also live in the hostel. But now, the college is going against its own promise," she says, adding that the resident batch of 2019 must also be allowed to stay in the hostel.
The message from the warden to the students, on the other hand, reads, "All of you have commenced your second year of studies and new first-year admissions to the college and hostel are beginning tomorrow. Therefore you are required to vacate your hostel room as soon as possible, preferably by the 31st of October." Unnimaya says that this is an impossible option, considering a majority of the students do not live in Delhi. "Our classes are held online too. So what is the hurry in getting our hostels vacated?" she asks. "It is not an easy deal for most of us to go back to Delhi, vacate our rooms and come back home," she adds.
We have reached out to the administration and will update the copy when they respond.
