Sixty-five years after the establishment of DU’s Kirori Mal College, its women students will finally receive campus accommodation, with its internal building committee clearing the plan for a women’s hostel.
However, college authorities said the primary challenge lies in raising funds to go ahead with the plan. According to principal Dr Vibha Singh Chauhan, while college authorities are planning to construct a four-storey hostel building with a capacity for 250 students, they hope to get a two-storey hostel functioning within two years.
Apart from approaching bodies such as the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Union Human Resource Development Ministry, the college is planning to raise the requisite funds by approaching its alumni network, among other means.
“We have marked out a space on campus for the hostel. We are looking at funds to the tune of
Rs 10 crore, but we don’t have the amount. There is another round of internal clearance, after which we will begin raising funds,” said Dr Chauhan.
“What we are planning to do is begin construction with the funds we get, and build a structure with a foundation strong enough to support vertical expansion in future, so we can construct the planned four storeys later,” she added.
Currently, the college has a men’s hostel with a capacity for 300 students. The college has a total student strength of approximately 5,000, of which roughly half are women.
Dr Chauhan said after studying the admission rolls, authorities found that three-fourth of its students come from outside Delhi, which made the need for women’s accommodation more urgent.
“There is also a need for expanding our capacity to accommodate men on campus, but our current priority is the women’s hostel,” she said.
The lack of campus accommodation, especially for women, is among the most serious issues plaguing Delhi University students — a large proportion of whom come from outside Delhi.
Colleges in Delhi University which have women’s hostels include St Stephen’s, Lady Shri Ram, Miranda House, Ramjas, Shri Ram College of Commerce, Khalsa College, Sri Venkateswara, Indraparastha and Daulat Ram.
