Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti will inaugurate a 400-bed hostel at Jamia Millia Islamia on Saturday. The hostel will cater to female students from J&K pursuing any course at the Central university. The hostel has 135 rooms.
The plan for the hostel was first conceived in 2012, when a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Jamia and the Ministry of Home Affairs. A senior Ministry official said the project was expedited after Mr. Singh’s visits to the State over the past two years.
Safe residential option
“When it comes to addressing the youth in the State, women largely remain unaddressed. It was felt that many students from rural areas who want to pursue higher education are unable to do so due to lack of safe residential options in Delhi. This hostel will address these concerns,” said the official.
The MoU was signed in presence of former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and former Vice-Chancellor Najeeb Jung.
“Mr. Singh believes that students are the biggest constituency of peace and the hostel has been constructed to carry forward this message. We want the women from the State get adequate opportunities,” the official added.
Funds for the hostel were borne by the State government initially. They were later reimbursed by the Home Ministry.