2nd roof collapse in 14 months
For the second time in two years, the roof of a laboratory of this Delhi University college in Bawana in outer Delhi gave way partially, destroying furniture, reports Swaha Sahoo.
“We have been lucky twice. But will we be lucky the third time too?” asked a teacher of Aditi Mahavidyalaya.
For the second time in two years, the roof of a laboratory of this Delhi University college in Bawana in outer Delhi gave way partially, destroying furniture.
On Wednesday night the roof of the Geography laboratory of the college crumbled and fell on the teacher’s table.
The previous incident had taken place in March 2008, when a part of the roof of the computer lab fell, destroying four computers and furniture — just two hours after classes got over.
“During monsoons, we don’t switch on the fans because we fear there might be a short circuit due to water seepage,” said the teacher, requesting anonymity, as he is not authorized to speak.
The college, set up in 1994 and 100 per cent funded by the Delhi government, is being run from a dilapidated school building.
Requests for land allotment for a new college building have been mired in controversy, endangering the lives of 1,500 students and 141 staff members.
“The Delhi government offered us land in Rohini. But since the college is meant to cater to students from rural areas, the move was opposed by various sections,” said Saroj Gulati, Officer on Special Duty.
A second land allotted in Bawana failed to get a No Objection Certificate from the Delhi Development Authority.
“We have zeroed in on a third piece of land and sent the proposal to the department of higher education. But we have not heard anything from them yet,” said Gulati.
The education department put the blame back on the college administration.
“When the college was given land in Rohini it refused to take it. Then they chose a land which was within residential area and the DDA refused permission,” said V.P. Rao, Director (Higher Education), Government of Delhi.
“The process of finalizing a land takes a long time but it will be done at the earliest.”
Interestingly, other Delhi government funded colleges such as Acharya Narendra Dev College in Kalkaji, Saheed Sukdev College of Business Studies and Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Science in Vivek Vihar also run from school buildings.