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IIT alumnus opens chain of ‘happiness’ hostels in Kota
Around 600 hostels of coaching hub Kota are being transformed into ‘Happiness Hostels’ under ‘Happiness city’, the joint initiative of IIT, medical college students and alumnus for providing home-like stress free environment to the coaching students of Kota.
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Around 600 hostels of coaching hub Kota are being transformed into ‘Happiness Hostels’ under ‘Happiness city’, the joint initiative of IIT, medical college students and alumnus for providing home-like stress free environment to the coaching students of Kota.
Amid Kota struggling to deal with stress among coaching students preparing for medical and engineering entrance examinations, a group of around two dozen IIT students/alumnus and over a dozen medical students have succeeded in roping in hostels/pgs of Kota city in developing stress free environment for the students.
Aman Maheshwari, IIT alumnus and coordinator of the ‘Happiness city’ initiative said that coaching students spend around 18 hours at the hostel and six hours at the coaching institute. This means that they spend most of the time at the hostels. So ‘Happiness city’ campaign is working to create a stress-free environment for students at the hostels.
“Under the campaign, survey of around 1,000 students of Kota living in hostels and PGS was done to understand their problems and requirement and now the campaign has linked 600 hostels to ensure health, hygiene and happiness to the students,” Maheshwari said.
Out of the 600 hostels, the campaign has taken around 100 hostels on lease for developing them into ‘Happiness hostels’ while rest 500 have also agreed to transform their hostels into Happiness hostels.
“Counselling, caring, games, activities, internet, books, sports, computers and other facilities will be provided at such hostels,” Maheshwari said.
Co-cordinator of the campaign, Sidharth Jain said that a social room will be developed at the hostels where students will be provided computer, internet, printer, book, indoor games, recreational activities, wifi and other facilities.
“A mentor in the form of happiness buddy along with two caretakers will be deployed in each of the happiness hostels so that students can share their views with them,” he said. A doctor would also be available on call for the students at such hostels, he added.
The initiative will also focus on maintaining hygiene in the hostels and ensuring quality food to the students.
Start-ups of IIT and medical students, ‘X S City’ and ‘Being Home’ have also been linked with the Happiness city initiative in which student feedback on the affordable and quality services offering hostels will be circulated to the students.
Chief executive officer of the X S City, Priyanshu Chaudhary, said that information about affordable happiness hostels would be provided to around 15,000 students every year in the form of photos of hostel facilities and its location so that students can get a congenial environment in Kota.
Ayush Garg of start-up Being Home said that they take feedback of the students about hostel facilities through their mobile app.
Maheshwari said that a ‘happiness guide’ booklet has been distributed among one lakh coaching students in Kota which carries discount coupons of stationary, mess, restaurants, juice and coffee shops which would save around ₹20000 of the students per month.
There are over two lakh students in Kota who live in over 2,500 hostels and PGs in Kota city. District collector, Kota, Muktanand Agarwal, also appreciated the campaign and has offered to provide assistance from Smart city project, said Jain.
