New Delhi: Amid ongoing student concerns regarding acute accommodation shortages across Delhi University (DU), students at the premier Hansraj College have raised sharp questions over institutional priorities, pointing out the stark contrast between a campus cow shelter and the absence of fully operational student hostels.
The debate has intensified as students grapple with the financial burden of renting cramped private paying guest (PG) accommodations across the national capital. According to the college’s current prospectus, its combined boys’ and girls’ hostels have an official capacity of 200 students. However, these residential facilities remain unavailable as the old buildings undergo extensive repair and renovation work.
The situation has left hundreds of outstation students struggling to find affordable housing. Many undergraduates reported spending a major portion of their monthly budgets on private rentals. “There are no PGs available for less than 10,000 rupees. Inside the campus, we have no functional hostel, but we have a gaushala,” remarked a student, reflecting the growing frustration among the student body. Another student from Haryana noted that the monthly cost of living in a PG often exceeds the academic course fee itself, adding to the financial strain on families.
Addressing the students’ grievances, Hansraj College Principal Rama Sharma clarified that the ongoing construction of two new hostels is progressing actively. She stated that the upcoming facilities are designed to house between 560 and 600 students at a cost of approximately 80 crore rupees, with construction picking up pace as funds are secured. Regarding the campus cow shelter—initially established years ago under the Swami Dayanand Cow-Protection and Research Centre—Principal Sharma emphasized that the enclosure is distinct from the hostel construction zone and should not be conflated with the administration’s active efforts to expand student infrastructure.
Student representatives, however, maintain that administrative accountability and timely delivery of residential facilities must remain paramount, urging university authorities to expedite the stalled infrastructure projects to ease the mounting housing crisis for incoming scholars.