NOIDA: Worried about their safety, 172 of 187 students at Kumari Mayawati Government Girls Polytechnic College in Greater Noida‘s Badalpur have left their hostels and returned home after a group of men allegedly entered the campus after Sunday midnight to snoop on them.
The incident led to protests on campus on Monday. Students told TOI there had been repeated intrusions by this group over the past week.The latest incident was scary because the intruders knocked on doors.
“All of us were afraid as we found it was a group of men, mostly aged between 25 and 40, peeping through windows. Even when we shouted and called for help, there was no one to hear us,” a first-year student at the hostel told TOI on Tuesday, a day after she went back to her home in Gorakhpur.
Another student, in the second year of her course, said women avoided going to the washroom at night for fear of being spied on. “To feel safe, all 15 girls who have stayed back at the hostel have moved into one room and are keeping a watch by staying up at night,” she said. She too went back home to Aligarh.
According to a college official, there are four hostels on campus. But the college, which was opened 22 years ago, has never had positions for hostel wardens. Another problem is inadequate security.
“The college has just four positions for security guards since it was opened in 2002. Two guards are deployed during the day, and two at night, in alternative shifts. If even one of them goes on leave, it becomes difficult to manage,” college principal Shyam Narayan Singh said.
Positions at the govt-run residential college can only be created by the education department. Singh said the college started out with just one hostel, but its strength has gone up since. The campus needs at least 12 guards and dedicated posts for hostel wardens, he said.
“As an alternative, teachers were asked to do the job of hostel wardens at night, but who wants to work 24 hours after taking classes in the day? There is no additional remuneration for this task either,” a college teacher told TOI.
Moreover, the campus has provision for installing 16 CCTV cameras, but currently, 10 have been set up and only six of them are operational, according to the college management.
Students also alleged they have spotted drones on the campus in recent weeks.
“It seems that some people are constantly spying on us. We have spotted drones a few times. Some of us also went to the roof of the hostels as we heard its sound. We will only come back once our safety is ensured,” a student said.
On Tuesday, police said they spoke to the protesting students and have increased patrolling in the area near the college at night. No case was filed. “We are inspecting the area to ensure students’ safety,” a senior police officer said.
District magistrate Manish Kumar Verma told TOI the district school inspector (DIOS) and other education department officials have been asked to prepare a report after inspecting the hostels. “Necessary steps will be taken at the earliest to ensure security,” he said.
The incident led to protests on campus on Monday. Students told TOI there had been repeated intrusions by this group over the past week.The latest incident was scary because the intruders knocked on doors.
“All of us were afraid as we found it was a group of men, mostly aged between 25 and 40, peeping through windows. Even when we shouted and called for help, there was no one to hear us,” a first-year student at the hostel told TOI on Tuesday, a day after she went back to her home in Gorakhpur.
Another student, in the second year of her course, said women avoided going to the washroom at night for fear of being spied on. “To feel safe, all 15 girls who have stayed back at the hostel have moved into one room and are keeping a watch by staying up at night,” she said. She too went back home to Aligarh.
According to a college official, there are four hostels on campus. But the college, which was opened 22 years ago, has never had positions for hostel wardens. Another problem is inadequate security.
“The college has just four positions for security guards since it was opened in 2002. Two guards are deployed during the day, and two at night, in alternative shifts. If even one of them goes on leave, it becomes difficult to manage,” college principal Shyam Narayan Singh said.
Positions at the govt-run residential college can only be created by the education department. Singh said the college started out with just one hostel, but its strength has gone up since. The campus needs at least 12 guards and dedicated posts for hostel wardens, he said.
“As an alternative, teachers were asked to do the job of hostel wardens at night, but who wants to work 24 hours after taking classes in the day? There is no additional remuneration for this task either,” a college teacher told TOI.
Moreover, the campus has provision for installing 16 CCTV cameras, but currently, 10 have been set up and only six of them are operational, according to the college management.
Students also alleged they have spotted drones on the campus in recent weeks.
“It seems that some people are constantly spying on us. We have spotted drones a few times. Some of us also went to the roof of the hostels as we heard its sound. We will only come back once our safety is ensured,” a student said.
On Tuesday, police said they spoke to the protesting students and have increased patrolling in the area near the college at night. No case was filed. “We are inspecting the area to ensure students’ safety,” a senior police officer said.
District magistrate Manish Kumar Verma told TOI the district school inspector (DIOS) and other education department officials have been asked to prepare a report after inspecting the hostels. “Necessary steps will be taken at the earliest to ensure security,” he said.
#Students #Evacuate #Greater #Noida #College #Hostel #Safety #Fears #Intruder #Incidents #Noida #News #Times #India
