Where is the bus to college?

Transport woes continue to haunt students of institutes in Delhi University's South Campus

Where is the bus to college?

Transport woes continue to haunt students of institutes in Delhi University's South Campus

As the sale of admission forms started in Jesus and Mary College (JMC) in Delhi University's South Campus, the aspiring students expressed a mixed feeling about studying in this part of the University campus.

All in line: More than 300 forms were sold at Jesus and Mary College
on Monday. PIC/Subhash Barolia

While the majority of the students feel that it is their dream come true if they study in one of the colleges located here, there is also a worry as to how they would reach these colleges as they lack connectivity through public transport. The worry gets compounded by the fact that the unavailability of public transportation had placed a DU student Radhika in a vulnerable position leading to her murder near Satya Niketan in March this year.

"Studying in JMC has been my dream. But reaching there is a major problem. After the Radhika incident, there were talks that proper transport service will be started for students in this area, but till now, nothing has been done," said Shreya Mishra, one of the aspirant who stays in east Delhi.

Even student volunteers are sceptical about the transport situation in and around South Campus. The low floor bus service, which was supposed to begin from the foot overbridge near Satya Niketan and connecting all colleges in the area as promised by the vice-chancellor as well as the South Campus dean is yet to see the light of the day.

"Every time I leave for my college, my parents are a worried lot. Commuting to the college is quite difficult as there are hardly any buses available anywhere around the campus," said Nikita Khanna, a second year student of JMC.

Students claim that the roads here get deserted after 4pm. Even the autos that are available only at the nearest metro stations are also not to be found in the afternoon. Another second-year JMC student Sheryl Mathew said, "It is a matter of security as students in the campus become quite vulnerable to anti-social elements on the roads . We had written a number of letters to the college authorities to provide a safe and feasible transport to us. But they say that a single college cannot do it alone. So we are left on our own to handle the menace."

Murder near campus
20-year-old Radhika Tanwar was shot dead in March near her south Delhi college in broad daylight. She was walking through an 'unsafe' two-km stretch as there was no bus service in the area. It's unsafe because of the absence of a bus service that would drop students at the doorstep of the college and because it is a happy hunting ground for eve-teasers. College authorities attribute the entire problem to non-existent security and the vulnerability of the area where two prominent colleges of south campus - Ram Lal Anand and Motilal Nehru - are situated. Though south Delhi is considered blessed when compared to other parts of the Capital in terms of security and infrastructure, incidents like this one came as a wake-up call. Initially students used to make use of the DTC's outer Mudrika service to reach their colleges, but that were rerouted. There were only buses on route no. 611 that provided some relief, but the service was so infrequent that youngsters choose to walk rather than wait 20 minutes. Significantly, the DTC's DU Special buses don't cover this stretch.

The Other Side
Deputy Dean, South Campus, Dinesh Varshney said, "We are working on the new bus service that will begin as the new academic session commences. It will start from Jor Bagh Metro Station from 8 am and move via Safdarjung flyover to Satya Niketan, covering all the south campus colleges. It will ply till late in the evening. The financial modalities are yet to be finalised. Also, in another two days, at Benito Jurez Marg, which is a lonely 2 km stretch, a team of women cops will be deployed to prevent eve -teasing."