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Renovation work delays room allotment in AU’s Hindu Hostel
With massive renovation work underway, there will be delay in allotment of accommodation to students at Hindu hostel
With massive renovation work underway, there will be delay in allotment of accommodation to students at Hindu hostel. As such, when different hostels of the Allahabad University have started allotting rooms at their respective units to the new entrants for the academic session 2022-23, the accommodation at Hindu hostel would be allotted from the next academic session, ie 2023-24, only, informed central varsity officials.
The Hindu hostel has been handed over to AU for 29 years and 11 months on a lease of ₹1 per annum by Madan Mohan Malaviya Hindu Boarding Society and at present the AU authorities have taken up massive renovation work at the hostel.
It has been decided that post renovation, rooms in this hostel will be allotted to the students of AU’s JK Institute of Applied Physics and those enrolled in different courses of the science faculty of the university.
Out of its 184 rooms, around 100 rooms would be allotted to JK Institute students and the rest would be allotted to BSc students, AU officials said.
Varsity authorities have appointed the warden and superintendent of the hostel for expediting the renovation work.
The condition of this hostel was in a very sorry state for the past several years. The decision of taking over the hostel having 184 double-seater rooms (with capacity of 368 students) had been first mooted and proposed by the Madan Mohan Malaviya Hindu Boarding Society (trust) more than 25 years back. Thereafter the society has been regularly sending communication in the matter. With no action initiated on part of the university, there was no development in this regard for years.
When prof Sangita Srivastava took over as the vice-chancellor on November 30, 2020, a proposal to the effect was sent once again. She followed it up paving way for its formal takeover on lease by AU.
The Hindu hostel was built by the visionary nationalist leader and great educationist Mahamana Madan Mohan Malaviya in 1901 at a cost of ₹2.5 lakh at the time collected entirely as donations to help students coming from far off corners of the country find easy accommodation. At the time its name was MacDonnell Hindu Boarding House. In 1951 its name was changed to Madan Mohan Malaviya University College.
Till 1982-83, AU teachers used to frequently visit the hostel to organise seminars and conduct tutorial classes for the students. However, in recent years it fell to neglect with most toilets unusable and the building in poor state due to lack of proper maintenance.
“Post takeover of the Hindu Hostel, some renovation and construction works are needed in the building. The process is underway and once it is completed the room allocation in the hostel will begin,” said AU’s public relation officer (PRO), prof Jaya Kapoor.
Meanwhile, the allotment for the remaining 64 seats in the PC Banerjee hostel will be done on Tuesday. The cut off has been released. Superintendent Sujit Kumar Singh said that those who do not come for counselling on Tuesday will not be given another chance.
