Students claim DU college opened cow centre instead of women's hostel

Students' body has been opposing the move as the cow centre has come up on land believed to be earmarked for a women's hostel

Much to the dismay of its student body, Delhi University’s Hansraj College has opened a cow protection and research centre.

Currently, the centre, named 'Swami Dayanand Saraswati Gau-Samwardhan ewam Anusandhan Kendra,' has only one cow.

The Hansraj College unit of the CPI(M)’s Students’ Federation of India (SFI) has been against the proposal since they believe it has been made on land earmarked for a women’s hostel, considering that the college currently only has a men’s hostel.

Dr Rama, the principal of the college, said that the role of the centre is not only to do research but also to provide “pure milk and ghee” for the students and for the monthly 'havan' done on the campus.

Students' body, SFI, however, condemned the opening of such a Centre. "As colleges shut down because of the pandemic, our college administration demanded full and bulk fees payment even though most of our families were suffering economic hardships. Now imagine our surprise when we learn that while the campus has been shut, the college has finished the construction of a full-fledged 'gaushala' without any warning or discussion with the student community," the student body said.

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The principal denied the claim and stated that the land parcel was too small for a hostel. She said that they are going through formalities and waiting on approvals from the municipality as they rework the college’s master plan to accommodate a women’s hostel. "The architects had seen the land and told us it is a setback area and a hostel cannot be constructed on it. The women's hostel is my dream project and the architects will analyse a suitable place for it," she said.

The principal hopes that once the hostel reopens the cow can also provide “fresh milk and curd” for the students. Apart from that, the college is also planning to open a gobar gas plant for which it is expecting support from the Centre.

Delhi University officials are unsure if such initiatives are there in other colleges and believe that it is an initiative taken at the college’s level.

(with agency inputs)

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