Four years on, Panjab University Girls Hostel No. 11 yet to open for students
After four years of its completion, the Girls Hostel No. 11 is yet to open for students. The single-floor hostel did not get clearance from the authorities concerned to open after objections were raised over some issues with the building, including fire safety measures, in 2022. It is yet to be seen if the Girls Hostel No. 11 will become operational before the commencement of the next academic session as bureaucratic hurdles are delaying the much needed clearance to open the accommodation for students.
At present, three students are forced to adjust in a single room in girls’ hostels as there is shortage of rooms. If the new hostel starts functioning, it would certainly ease burden other accommodation facilities on the university campus.
According to officials of the university construction wing, a tender to install fire safety measures along with making other changes in the hostel had been floated. They said the process was underway to award the tender in about a month’s time.
“Bids have been received. The department concerned of the UT Administration is processing the offers. After contractor is finalised, the file will go to the senior tender committee of the university which will give its final recommendation,” said a senior official in the university construction wing.
“The final approval for awarding the tender will be given by the Vice Chancellor after which work on the ground will commence,” the official said. The Girls Hostel No. 11, located in the Sector 25 campus of the university, currently wears a deserted look. According to sources thieves had stolen various items that included windows and doors in the building.
When asked about delay in opening the hostel for students, PU’s Chief Executive Engineer RK Rai said, “We are trying our best to open the hostel for university students. Everything has to go through a process.”
3,500 students can be accommodated
According to Prof Simrit Kahlon, Dean, Student Welfare (Women), the university had a capacity to accommodate at least 3,500 girl students in its hostels. “According to a latest estimate, girls make around 60 per cent of the 15,000 strength of students on the university campus. Ten hostels are currently open for girl students. Each hostel has a capacity to house at least 350 students,” said Kahlon. She said, “A student has to pay around Rs 5,000 per semester for his/her stay in a hostel. Due to low fee, the university authorities' receive plethora of requests from students for allocation of room in a hostel.”
