Note: Check for updates at the end of this article
On 15 February 2022, a virtual hostel allocation was sent to all students by the Hostel Affairs Secretary (HAS) for Jul-Nov 2023. A week later, the batch of 2019 returned to campus and was quarantined in Jamuna. On 25 February 2022, rooms were allotted to all the quarantined students under the impression that this would be the final allotment for the Jan-May 2022 semester. Soon after the relocation, the following mail was sent by the DoSt office:
On 27 February 2022, the HAS sent a new hostel allotment for March-July 2022. A preference form was floated, where students could add in their floor and wing preferences. Later, an option was added for sharing preference as well, which some students missed since the change had not been communicated to them. It was said that the preferences of final year students would take precedence, followed by the other batches in the order of seniority.
The hostel allotment itself, however, was befuddling for several students who argued that:
- There are only two months left to conclude the current semester. Shifting hostels is a massive, physically exhausting endeavour that does not seem warranted for so short a time
- The allocation was not optimised to minimise inter-hostel movement, which would have been in the best interest of everyone. Students wished to know why they could not simply be rearranged within the hostels where they are currently residing to accommodate incoming batches of students.
- The batch 2018 and 2019 girls had been requested to move into double, triple and quadruple sharing rooms while batch 2020 girls were allotted single occupancy rooms in Sabarmati and Tunga. This was clearly not in line with the principle of giving preference to seniors for single occupancy rooms and was a result of the 2017, 2018 and 2019 batches being allotted hostels with fewer single rooms and the 2020 batch being allotted hostels with more single rooms.
- Shifting hostels on this scale is a chaotic, time-consuming process and there was no guarantee that deadlines, quizzes and other academic activities would be suspended till such time as students were relocated
The HAS assured the students that the team would look into better solutions for the concerns raised and then finalise the room allotments.
On 6 March 2022, the CCW office sent room allocations individually on smail, along with a schedule for movement, beginning with the movement of girls the same day. The allotments did not seem to have changed and largely remained the same. Several students from the 2019 and 2018 batches were allotted sharing rooms, with some being allotted 8-sharing and 16-sharing rooms as well. Converting common rooms into massive dorms was a deal breaker.
Students questioned the point of preference forms since their choices had not been accounted for and many seniors had been allocated sharing rooms, which was considered a downgrade. At the same time, many students started packing and shifting according to the movement schedule. However, most of the allocated rooms had not been vacated and students had to find and coordinate with the current occupants themselves through WhatsApp. At the same time, general secretaries of hostels informed their hostel residents not to move and to stay put, over mail and WhatsApp, creating further confusion.
A day later, on 7 March 2022, the CCW office mailed students to halt relocations until allotment discrepancies were sorted out. Movement paused, although a small fraction had already shifted. This needed further clarification and coordination as moving back into old rooms was not possible.
Late at night, on 7 March 2022, boys were sent a new allotment and asked to make the move in the afternoon of 8 March 2022. However, girls are currently being quarantined in Jamuna and their room allotment has not been released yet. This means that the boys alloted to Jamuna cannot move yet, creating a bottleneck for the rest.
The final room allotment for girls is expected to be out soon, but the problem is far from over. T5E intends to append this article with new developments as and when they happen. These live updates will in no way be exhaustive, given that it is close to impossible to discern clear information from the muddled communication from multiple authorities.
9/3/2022, 1:00 PM: In order to ease the bottleneck that is Jamuna, UG girls being quarantined there have been asked to shift to Mandakini before moving into their allotted hostels. Mandakini is being used as the hostel for quarantining at the moment. MS and PhD students quarantined in Jamuna have been asked to move to Tunga and Sabarmati.
9/3/2022, 11:00 PM: Girls not in quarantine have been sent a new allotment of rooms and are expected to move between 11th and 12th March, soon after the boys complete shifting. 8-sharing and 16-sharing rooms have been removed.
14/3/2022, 9:00 AM: Girls are yet to be moved into their respective hostels owing to delays in the shifting of boys from Bhadra. However, the DoSt has requested all students to finish moving immediately by tonight, since the arrival of another batch of students is around the corner.
