Delhi University is set to increase its hostel capacity by over 5,500 seats to 12,754 over the next five years, officials said on Thursday.At present, there are 7,210 hostel seats for around 2.5 lakh university students. The announcement comes amid growing worries among outstation students regarding safe and affordable student housing following the Satya Niketan building collapse, which housed a PG facility. Several student groups, including the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), have held candlelight marches and protests since the September 6 tragedy over the absence of hostel accommodation.According to official data, the university has 3,422 hostel seats while the capacity across affiliated colleges is 3,788.Earlier this week, DU Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh asked college principals to review residential facilities for students and expedite work on under-construction hostels.New hostelsThe university has been working to expand hostel facilities over the past few years and is planning to submit proposals for several new projects to the government, it stated in a release on Thursday.
The statement added that an Institute of Eminence hostel with a capacity of 1,450 seats is nearing completion at the university’s Dhaka Complex.
