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Bhopal: Students cry foul after being told to vacate BU hostels

Barkatullah University's girl students from Kashmir and other states alleged that they were compelled to vacate the hostel on the occasion of Diwali by matron and university administration in contravention to rules.

Updated on: Oct 25, 2014, 16:21:12 IST
Hindustan Times | By , Bhopal
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Barkatullah University's girl students from Kashmir and other states alleged that they were compelled to vacate the hostel on the occasion of Diwali festival by matron and university administration in contravention to rules.

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HT Image

Ten such students are now putting up in hotels and a couple of them with their friends in their houses. The students forcibly asked to vacate their rooms for Diwali festival said they had not been told in advance that hostels would be closed for Diwali.

A girl student, on the condition of anonymity, said, "I don’t burst crackers and celebrate Diwali and at the time of admission, it was nowhere mentioned that hostels would remain closed during Diwali holidays. On October 21, we were suddenly asked to leave the hostel, compelling us to live in hotels and friends’ homes."

"The BU administration had announced that girls would celebrate Diwali in the hostel as Nivedita hostel, which is one of the two girls’ hostels in BU, would remain open on Diwali. But suddenly on October 21, we were asked to leave the hostel. The step is not only ethically wrong, but it is also a kind of cheating with us," said another student from Kashmir.

Not only Kashmiri students, students from other states including Uttar Pradesh also faced trouble due to closing of the hostel for four days. A girl student from Uttar Pradesh said, "This is highhandedness of BU administration. If they want to celebrate Diwali, it doesn’t mean students should also celebrate. Boys hostels are open; then why did they close both the girls’ hostels?"

ABVP’s (Bhopal hostels) leader Vishnu Kushwaha said, "This kind of misconduct of the administration wouldn’t be tolerated. ABVP would lodge a complaint in this regard to the chief minister so that action was taken against the responsible persons."

BU public relation officer Vinod Singh said, "There is no rule of closing of hostels on Diwali, but hostels are closed for renovation and maintenance once in a year and since most of the girls were off to their homes for Diwali, girls’ hostels have been closed for necessary maintenance work."

  • Shruti Tomar
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Shruti Tomar

    I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More