In another incident, the roof of a hostel room at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) partially collapsed, revealing the dilapidated condition of the university’s infrastructure. The incident took place at Godavari Hostel when some part of the roof fell directly on the study table.
Swati Singh, who lives in the same hostel, said that the residents of the room were not injured but a laptop was damaged. “A part of the ceiling collapsed in a room of Godavari hostel in JNU. Though none of the residents suffered any serious injuries, the residents of the room were sleeping nearby and the ceiling fell directly on their study table, damaging the laptop,” said Democratic Students Federation (DSF) president Swati Singh.
This is not the first time that such an incident has happened in JNU. In April, a student at the Sabarmati hostel was seriously injured when the ceiling of the bathroom collapsed.
Swati said that despite several complaints to the authorities, no action has been taken so far. The dilapidated condition of JNU hostels has been repeatedly exposed by the students. The issue has led to several protests by student groups over the past few months.
JNU students have demanded that the complete renovation of Godavari Hostel including waterproof treatment should be done on an urgent basis. “We, the residents of Godavari Hostel would like to categorically state that if any unfortunate incident happens to any resident, the warden and administration should be held responsible as they are not taking the issue of collapse of hostel infrastructure seriously.” the residents said in a statement.
After several days of protest, a notice was issued by the administration last month in which it was said that the repair work would be done in a phased manner. “However, the notification mentions renovation of toilets only in Godavari Hostel,that too only in the second phase of the renovation work. We believe that this is not only inadequate but also shows the criminal negligence of the administration.”
