Lodging during admission a hassle for out-station aspirants

With technical snags marring online application, lack of clarity in procedures and confusion prevailing in general during Delhi University admission, students from other states are in a sticky situation.

Many students and their parents/guardians have been forced to stay put in the Capital.

Many of them have been lodging in hotels or paying guest (PG) accommodations and forced to spend exorbitant amounts daily.

The luckier ones have been camping at friends' and relatives' place.

Harpeet Kaur from Bhatinda, who has accompanied her son and husband leaving her 10-year-old daughter at her grandmother's home, says they are incurring an expenditure of nearly Rs 5,000 per day.

"Our daily expense turns out to be almost this much and it is really unaffordable. We have been here for the past four days and had to cancel our return ticket as well," Kaur said.

The race in the campus is now not only for securing seats, but also for getting a PG accommodation or a room for rent.

According to the parents, most hotels in Paharganj area are booked because of the admission process.

"PGs around the campus are full and the ones which are vacant are not letting us stay for a week or two," said Dr Madhu Kar Chubey, who accompanied his son all the way from Gorakhpur to get admission.

While expressing their concern over the protracted impasse over admissions in the University, several parents also claimed they are under heavy pressure at work because they have been forced to extend their leaves.

Many also blamed the University authorities for keeping them in the dark about the admission procedure.

"We do not receive any clear information from the University officials due to which we are not able to decide anything. It is affecting our work back home. We are forced to get our leaves extended," said Bikas Jyoti Dasgupta from Kolkata.