Delhi University attracts large number of women students from far flung areas of the country because of its high standards of education. Although the number of women students joining the DU has been growing every year, there has been a chronic shortage of accommodation for them. These students are forced to live in rented accommodation in the vicinity of the DU and its colleges which makes them candidates for exploitation and harrassment. The landlords charge exorbitant rents from these students in view of the high demand and short supply of rooms. Another problem that the women students face is their security. They have to come back from the university at odd hours at night.
According to the information received from the university sources, the woes of the outstation girl students may soon be over. The DU’s women safety organization ‘ Pehel’ has placed a proposal before the university that there should be a centralized housing office to help outstation girls to get safe accommodation in and around the university campus. The proposal is likely to be accepted. It is also proposed that the paying guest accommodation providers around the campus shall have to register themselves at the office and prove their credentials before renting out the rooms.
"The centralized housing office would keep a data of the landlords in and around different clusters of colleges located all over the city. It would be a one-stop destination for outstation students to find out about the reliable and safer places," said Shormistha Panja, convenor of Pehel and dean of the Arts faculty.
The proposal is based upon the pattern followed in Western Universities where this system has proved to be quite successful. The students visiting the US universities, who cannot find accommodation in the campus hostels, contact these nodal offices to find affordable and secure accommodation.
This proposal is a timely and a God-sent one for all the women students who face harassment at the hands of their landlords. They continue to suffer, as they have no other housing options. The proposal to set up a nodal office came as a feedback from the students in response to a questionnaire distributed by ‘Pehel.’
The questionnaire was distributed to the students both in the north and the south campuses including Miranda House, Gargi, Lady Shri Ram, Jesus and Mary among others. According to the suggestions received, the private accommodation providers will have to obtain clearance from the centralized housing office before renting out their rooms to students. The black-listed house owners will be marked out in the office to warn students against approaching them for accommodation.