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Almost a year since opening, the University of Mumbai’s new hostel for international students at Kalina Campus remains unused.
The hostel, which has a capacity of 146 students, was inaugurated in July 2022 by the then Governor of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshari.
The new facility aims to provide accommodation for the university’s international students after the old international students’ hostel in Churchgate closed after housing was declared too dangerous a few years ago.
Prefabricated hostels are unoccupied, student unions have complained, when students struggle to find accommodation in Mumbai, as the new academic year begins.
“Why has the government been so quick to take credit for the opening of the inn, when it is not ready for use, after nearly a year since opening?” Rohit questioned Dhali of Chhatraparati Students Organization.
He added, “If the university does not have enough international students, it should be opened for PhD students from the university who are currently struggling to find accommodation in Mumbai.”
“The process of starting the hostel is in its final phase and soon the hostel will open for admission,” said an official from University of Mumbai. The lodge has been caught up in controversy over its name.
At the time of the inauguration, Koshiari urged her to name it after Veer Savarkar. Koshiari had insisted that Savarkar had called the 1857 uprising the “First War of Independence” and that naming a hostel after him would foster respect for India in the hearts of the students.
But he was soon objected to by a few student unions who wanted to name him after Chatrapati Shahu Maharaj.
According to the students, if a hostel is to be named after a character, it must be for someone who has worked with the students, regardless of the social class and society they belong to and who promotes egalitarian teachings.
Chantrabharati Students Organization wrote a letter to Vice-Chancellor of University of Mumbai Dr. Ravindra Kulkarni as well as Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to start the hostel facility along with asking them to name it after Chatrapati Shahu Maharaj.
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