Part of ceiling falls at DU college, five hurt
NEW DELHI: Five students of Daulat Ram College in north campus were injured on Tuesday when a portion of the ceiling fell on them during class hours.
First-year political science (hons) students were attending a lecture in room no. 105 when the incident happened.
“I asked students to get out of the class as soon as the chunk fell. Since the classroom was packed, this led to a stampede-like situation,” said Shachi Chawla, who was teaching the students.
The injured students were taken to Hindu Rao Hospital for treatment. The students filed an FIR. “There is no space in the class for the nearly 100 students. Students have to sometimes stand outside. We had to jump over tables. The fan was shaking so it was turned off. It would have fallen too,” said Shreya and Nidhi, student.
A student said all departments have decided to boycott classes till the building was renovated. “We are willing to have classes outside but not inside,” said Deeksha Verma.
An urgent meeting was held to discuss measures to be taken.
“We, the teachers and I, are with the student body. Renovations need to take place in the college. We have been seeking the governing body’s approval for waterproofing but no concrete approval has yet been given by the chairperson,” said principal Savita Roy.
Roy said the auditorium and the sports complex would be opened for large classes. Available classrooms deemed as safe will be open for students to attend classes.
Teachers and students had recently held a protest. They had alleged that the governing body chairperson was not allowing any action in several matters, including repair of dilapidated buildings.
Chairperson Suneeta Sudarshan denied the allegations and accused Roy of not doing anything despite the governing body sanctioning grants for various works.