Pinjra Tod protests erratic curfew time at DU hostel

HOSTEL RESIDENTS CLAIMED THAT THE WARDEN HAD ONLY GIVEN THEM VERBAL REASSURANCE BUT THEY WANT IT IN WRITING

of the Pinjra Tod movement staged a protest outside the Delhi University’s proctor’s office against the alleged arbitrary changes in ‘curfew timings’ at the university’s Ambedkar-Ganguly Students House for Women.

“This semester, they have arbitrarily changed the curfew timings from around 11 pm to 9 pm for the girls at the hostel. They have not given any reason as to why this is being done,” said a member of the movement.

The Ambedkar-Ganguly Students House for Women is a DU residence hall, with 50% of the seats reserved for postgraduate students from the Delhi School of Economics, and 50% reserved for SC/ST students and persons with disabilities.

Residents of the hostel claimed that they had spoken to the warden about the issues, who had given them verbal reassurances. However, they said they will not be satisfied unless they get a written order in place.

“The warden had called a meeting of the students a couple of days ago and told us that the rules have been misinterpreted. She said that though attendance would be taken between 8pm and 9pm, but students were free to stay out until much later. It is just that in these cases, it would be considered a late entry. She also said that there would be no limitation on the number of night outs a student can take. However, we will not rest, until we get this in writing,” said a resident of the hostel.

The warden, K Ratnabali, confirmed this, but claimed that there had been no ‘protest’ as such. “We had already resolved our issues, so the students are also happy,” she said.