About 25 DU girls, who are dwellers of Mata Kasturba Gandhi Girls Hostel in North Campus, have been protesting against their ouster from the hostel since September 1.
Due to Covid-19, everyone had left for their homes, leaving their belongings in the hostel. Now the lockdown has raised during Unlock 4.0. Moreover, the government permits inter- and intra-state movements. Therefore, students came back to the hostel to give their entrance exams, as they were encountering network issues while attending online classes at home. When we reached here, the hostel authority denied entry into the hostel premises. In spite of the fact that our belongings are latched in the rooms inside, says Priyanka Kashyap, a student of faculty of law, DU. Kashyap, along with four other student inmates, spent the night outside the hostel, perching in protest.
The students contended that they did not receive official notice for vacating the hostel. Our warden asked us to leave by paying all the outstanding amount to date in one go. And that, too, without any notice in a written manner. She said that committee units have agreed not to run the hostel anymore and renovate it in the near future, without even notifying us with a written notice, as we are standing residents of this hostel.
The students have had to shift their objection from outside the hostel to virtual mediums. Now that they have deployed police in the hostel campus, we can’t protest over there. So, we have tried to protesting virtually through Twitter, Facebook, other platforms, say, Sandra Mariya, a student of Ramjas college.
The Unjust Act
Troubled by the problem, the ousted DU Girls are seeking for a solution. Students are striving for advice as to what can be done. For now, we are staying at our friends’ home. We have been dwellers of this hostel for many years, and it’s very unfortunate that we get such treatment at one of our most exposed time, says Sabithri PK, a Hindu College student.
TWO DELHI UNIVERSITY COLLEGES GET NOTICES FOR CASTE DISCRIMINATION
The hostel authorities deny all comments and are dubious on whether they are planning to shut the hostel for good. The hostel is shut, but we don’t have any news from the committee members about when and if the hostel will open again or will forever shut. These students came into the hostel and began to break the gate’s lock. How can we enable anyone to enter the premises if the hostel is entirely close? Amid the pandemic, if something happens to the pupils we allow in, who will take the commitment? We have not come on a conclusion regarding when we will re-open and we await government actions, says Rossamma Joby, warden of the hostel.