NSUI to make hostel accommodation top agenda for DUSU polls

NSUI today said they have decided to make hostel accommodation a top agenda for the upcoming the Delhi University Students' Union elections.
"NSUI has prepared this agenda after meeting students of various colleges under Delhi University and taking feedback from them. More than 20,000 students, who have filled up forms for hostel accommodation, have requested NSUI to raise the issue," NSUI national president Roji M John said.
John said DU is a premier university which draws lakhs of students every year from across the country and yet there weren't enough accommodations for them.
"Section 33 of the Delhi University Act makes it compulsory to provide accommodation for the students of the university," he claimed.

DU, at present, has fifteen off-campus hostels and nine colleges with boarding facilities on their premises, he said.
"Out of the 9, only 5 have accomodations for women. There are only about 9,000 hostel seats available for the estimated 1.8 lakh students enrolled with DU. Due to this huge crunch, many students are forced to take up alternative accomodations, which means shelling out more money, as well as living amid security concerns," he added.

Claiming DU has about 95 acre of barren land, NSUI national spokesperson Amrish Ranjan Pandey demanded this land to be used to build more hostels.
"DU administration must take neighbouring private structures on lease to provide secure accomodation for the students. In case of failure to provide accomodation, students should be given the option for subsidised accomodation in neighbouring areas," Pandey said.

DUSU elections will be held on September 12. The last date for filing nominations is September 3.