JNU to Open Separate Hostel for N-E Students

NEW DELHI: India’s prime Jawaharlal Nehru University in the national capital will have a separate hostel for Northeast students. This was announced by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh.

The Minister has visited the JNU campus to inspect the site proposed for the purpose. He was accompanied by Vice Chancellor of JNU, Prof. S.K. Sopory, Deputy Registrar, Antony Sille and Secretary, North Eastern Council (NEC), Ameising Lukham and other senior officials.

The hostel estimated to be built at a cost of Rs 32.44 crore will be a four storied R.C.C structure with total constructed area of 12444.96 sqm. The hostel will have an accommodation of 210 living rooms catering to almost double the number of students, in addition to a dining hall for approximately 270 students, four Warden Flats and two common rooms. There will also be provision for balcony with living room, pantry, and open space between the rooms, pantry and a parking lot.

Singh was also given a brief technical presentation on the plan and outlay by the Engineers and architects of RITES following which he said that with the construction of this hostel, the DoNER Ministry would have fulfilled one of its major commitments of providing hostel facility for students from North-East with provision for all amenities and security concern. This will go a long way in enabling the bright youngsters from the region to come closer to the mainstream life of the country. One more site for a similar hostel has also been identified in the premises of Ramanujan College, Kalkaji he added.

Singh said the number of students from the 8 States of North-East region is constantly on the rise and the Ministry of DoNER has taken upon itself the responsibility to encourage and promote their growth in the union capital as well as in other parts of the country. In this regard, he also referred to the DoNER Ministry’s plans to bring up similar hostels in other parts of the country and said , once this initiative in Delhi is successfully accomplished, similar projects will be taken up in other major cities also beginning from Bengaluru, Pune, Ahmedabad, etc.

Singh said he had issued instructions to the officials in the Ministry to set up a website where all the grievances of the people from North?East could be received and appropriately responded to. Similarly, he said, he has also directed the officers in DoNER Ministry to hold regular interactions with the youth and student representatives living in the union capital. A nodal officer in the DoNER Ministry is proposed to be designated for receiving the calls and inputs from the North-East origin people living in Delhi.