The University of Delhi (DU) is set to add 5,544 hostel seats across the university and its colleges, expanding its combined residential capacity to 12,754 seats.The move comes days after the collapse of a five-storey pa…

The University of Delhi (DU) is set to add 5,544 hostel seats across the university and its colleges, expanding its combined residential capacity to 12,754 seats.The move comes days after the collapse of a five-storey paying guest (PG) building in Delhi’s Satya Niketan on September 6, which killed seven people, including five students. The incident has brought renewed attention to the shortage of safe and affordable accommodation for DU students, many of whom live in private PGs and rented rooms around the university’s campuses.How many hostel seats will DU add?DU currently has 3,422 hostel seats at the university level. Another 3,922 seats are being added through ongoing projects, taking the university’s own capacity to 7,344.Satya Niketan building collapse: Delhi High Court asks govt to reply to plea for hostel facility in DU collegesIts colleges currently have 3,788 seats, with another 1,622 seats planned. This will take the combined capacity of college hostels to 5,410.Together, DU and its colleges will have 12,754 hostel seats once the ongoing projects are completed.Among the major projects are a 1,450-seat Institute of Eminence hostel at the Dhaka Complex, a 1,000-seat women’s hostel called Nirbhaya Residential Accommodation and a 1,050-seat studio apartment complex.The university has also asked college principals to speed up ongoing hostel projects and examine whether new hostels can be built on their campuses.Are the hostel seats enough?DU’s hostel expansion will add 5,544 seats, taking the combined capacity of university and college hostels from 7,210 to 12,754, an increase of roughly 77 per cent.Not just building owners, MCD and DU also responsible: Delhi HC on Satya Niketan tragedyBut DU has a much larger student population. Its latest annual report shows 2,51,474 students in conventional programmes in 2024-25, including 2,10,907 undergraduate, 34,520 postgraduate and 6,047 certificate and diploma students. More than half of DU students come from outside Delhi.At present, there are only about 3 hostel seats for every 100 students. Even after the new projects are completed, this will rise to only about 5 seats for every 100 students.DU admitted 70,422 undergraduate and 11,653 postgraduate students in 2024-25, showing how many new students enter the university each year.So while the expansion will add a significant number of seats, most DU students will still not have access to a university or college hostel.Delhi University sets stage for DUSU elections; voting on Sept 18Why are DU hostels under scrutiny?The September 6 collapse of a five-storey PG building in Satya Niketan, which killed five students, has renewed concerns about the safety of student accommodation in Delhi.The Delhi High Court has flagged the shortage of hostels and sought responses from the Centre, Delhi government and DU. A PIL seeking hostel facilities in all DU colleges is also pending, with the next hearing on September 25.The Delhi government has also set up an 18-member committee to examine the shortage and safety of student accommodation, including the use of vacant government properties for hostels.

Source: Deccan Herald