Where's the party at Delhi University?

DUSU still undecided on venue for youth festival

DUSU still undecided on venue for youth festival

It is all work and no play for Delhi University students right now. While most students have spent thousands of rupees in primping up for the most happening event in their academic calender -- Youth Nexus, the most happening fest that usually takes place in December -- the university has no place to hold the fest.u00a0

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Shaky ground: File photo of a rugby stadium at Sports Complex of
Delhi University in New Delhi.

Blame it on the Commonwealth Games. While all the colleges which come under DU have confirmed participation and even dates have been finalised, the DU fest organising committee is yet to get back the ground from the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee.u00a0 The University Polo Grounds, where the event is held every year, is still with CWG Organising Committee. And now DU has no ground to hold the fest.

"We are facing problems regarding the university ground which was with the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee and now we are planning to discuss the issue with Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh. We are planning to organise the event in the second week of February," said Akshay Kumar, Joint secretary, Delhi University Student Union (DUSU).u00a0

The site, along with Sports Complex ground, St Stephen's and Khalsa College grounds, are the four sports fields amongst the eight that were taken over as training grounds for CWG. And these grounds are still under the custody of CWG organising committee.u00a0

u00a0"We are not being able to participate in any of the sports events because of the lack of grounds. The university sports committee was not even able to organise any sports event. Our sports committee has all the sports equipment but we cannot utilise it," said Manoj Sharma, a DU Student.

When MiD DAY contacted VC Dinesh Singh about the issue, he didn't respond.u00a0 According to DU students, Youth Nexus is the most awaited fest in the whole year.

Celebration time

All the colleges come together in this end-of the-year extravaganza; from competitions to rock concerts to celebrity performances to good food - the fest has it all. Even the massive polo grounds of the north campus of Delhi University appear small once the crowd starts pouring in. It's a three-day-long fest that usually starts with competitions in various fields like music, dance, theatre, arts, all having attractive prizes. All the institutions have their eyes set on the "College of the Year" award.

Sate of sites

The University Polo Grounds, where the event is held every year, were not retrieved from the CWG Organising Committee on time. Hence theu00a0 fest, Youth Nexus, could not be held last year. The site, along with Sports Complex ground, St Stephen's and Khalsa College grounds, are the four sports fields amongst the eight that were taken over as training grounds for CWG.u00a0 As per university officials, all of these sports grounds had to be handed over to respective colleges by October 20, 2010. The deadline has come and gone but the grounds are still lying vacant and in the custody of the Games committee. "I don't have any clue as to when these sites would be returned. We have not received any official word on this yet. The process of repossessing them has been delayed considerably," said Dr Sudarshan Pathak, Sports Head, Delhi University.u00a0 Delhi University student leaders claim that youngsters have been unable to use the sports fields for a year now, after preparations for CWG began. Now that the Games are over - the closing ceremony was held on October 14 - they still cannot use them.