DU to add 5.5K seats to existing hostel capacity of 7,210 over five years

Delhi University is set to increase its hostel capacity by over 5,500 seats to 12,754 over the next five years, officials said on Thursday.

At present, there are 7,210 hostel seats for around 2.5 lakh university students. The announcement comes amid growing worries among outstation students regarding safe and affordable student housing following the Satya Niketan building collapse, which housed a PG facility. Several student groups, including the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), have held candlelight marches and protests since the September 6 tragedy over the absence of hostel accommodation.

According to official data, the university has 3,422 hostel seats while the capacity across affiliated colleges is 3,788.

Earlier this week, DU Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh asked college principals to review residential facilities for students and expedite work on under-construction hostels.

New hostels

The university has been working to expand hostel facilities over the past few years and is planning to submit proposals for several new projects to the government, it stated in a release on Thursday.
The statement added that an Institute of Eminence hostel with a capacity of 1,450 seats is nearing completion at the university’s Dhaka Complex.
Construction on a 1,000-seat women’s hostel, ‘Nirbhaya Residential Accommodation’, is also under way. A studio apartment complex with a capacity of 1,050 seats is among the other projects under construction, the university also said.

DUSU polls

Meanwhile, candidates for the September 18 DU Students’ Union (DUSU) polls filed nomination papers on Thursday.

As per the tentative list, there are 25 candidates for the president’s post, 20 for vice-president, 24 for secretary and 19 for joint secretary. Candidates have until 12 noon on Friday to withdraw their names, after which the final list will be published. The ABVP has identified seven probable candidates while the National Students’ Union of India plans to announce four candidates on Friday.