Protests after fire in girls' hostel at Jamia Hamdard

NEW DELHI: A fire on the first floor of the girls' hostel at Jamia Hamdard University on Thursday night created panic. Though some hostellers suffered only minor injuries, students later protested outside the vice-chancellor's office alleging lack of fire safety on the campus and demanding accountability.
A student of JLN Hostel, which houses around 60 girls, said, "It was very scary. Many of us were trapped on the second floor. The security personnel did not try to do much and with the hostel having no emergency exit, we panicked about how to get out of the building. The lights were cut off and the first floor was filled with dense smoke."
According to students, the first spark was seen at 12.10am and it turned into a blaze within a few minutes. The male hostellers broke down the partition between the girls' and boys' section of the building and fought the fire with extinguishers they brought from the male section. JLN Hostel used to be a co-ed facility before being partitioned into two sections for boys and girls.
"Shockingly, the guards on duty failed to display any urgency and responsibility critical in such a situation," alleged a male student. "Fortunately, we were able to douse the fire with the fire extinguishers, but not before some students were injured and others fainted in panic."
The students then gathered for a peaceful protest and marched to the offices of VC Mohammad Afshar Alam and the registrar, demanding accountability and immediate action from the university administration. In a video shared by the students, Alam can be heard saying, "I am feeling bad that at 2am, you had to come with your grievances."
Alam also assured the students that he would visit the hostel and assess the shortcomings. "We have to see what can be done about the emergency exit. We will also check the electricity wiring and ensure proper maintenance," he said. He promised the students that pending maintenance work would be expedited to prevent such incidents in the future.
Chief proctor Sarwar Alam spoke to TOI and said, "I was at the spot when the fire was detected since I also am in charge of the hostel's security. The fire spread from the fuse board but it could not have spread and engulfed any other section because it was confined to the board." He added, "Using a fire extinguisher on flames creates a lot of smoke. That smoke could not escape. The smoke created more panic than the fire warranted. We have briefed the students and plan to organise fire drills now."