DU orders campus safety audits, sets October 12 deadline for report submission

University of Delhi (DU) on Friday directed college principals, department heads, and hostel wardens to conduct comprehensive safety audits of their respective premises to strengthen women’s safety on campus.

The exercise includes identifying blind spots, ensuring the prompt repair of non-functional lights, and installing CCTV cameras to enhance surveillance, and has set October 12 as the deadline for submitting detailed inspection reports.

The directive follows an online meeting with key university and college stakeholders, including principals, deans, and directors. The move comes in the wake of the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old school student in the Kalkaji area and incident of sexual harassment involving two female students of DU in Mukherjee Nagar. It also follows protests by female students over the past few weeks, demanding enhanced security measures around college campuses.

“In the light of the current safety landscape, representatives are tasked with conducting comprehensive assessments–including identifying potential blind spots, immediate action measures regarding repair of non-functional lighting, strategic placement of CCTV cameras to improve campus-wide surveillance, pruning of overgrown trees to enhance visibility and mitigate risks,” a statement signed by DU proctor Manoj Kumar Singh dated October 9 stated.

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“The proctor requested that all relevant authorities compile and submit detailed lists, highlighting specific issues related to women’s safety and security by October 12,” the statement added.

Besides these measures, the university also emphasised the need to increase police around the campus, including dedicated surveillance teams stationed strategically near colleges and hostels, and installation of sufficient pink booths, and increased usage of Vamika police van.

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Further, organisation of gender sensitisation workshops along with a seven-day self defence crash course for students in collaboration with the police has been recommended, the university stated.

The university has asked officials of colleges, department, and hostel to work with its engineering department to carry out an infrastructure audit, and immediately take up any urgent repair work.