Hostels requisitioned by district admin, Assam Univ ask boarders to take their belongings

May 24: Cachar District Administration invoking the Disaster Management Act, 2005 has requisitioned the student’s hostels of Assam University, Silchar for converting them as quarantine centres and Covid care centres. It is in this backdrop that the Registrar in-charge of Assam University issued a notification on 24 May, wherein the hostel boarders were asked to collect their belongings from their rooms by 4 PM of 26 May. It was also stated that in case the boarder fails to come, then he/she may authorise his/her guardian to collect his/her belongings. The students will have to produce their identity cards while entering the university campus.

The notification further stated that boarders who are not able to collect their belongings need not worry. District Administration shall open the doors of their hostel rooms and collect the items and separately pack and mark their belongings for collection at a later date to be notified later. The university notification also mentioned that boarders/ staff who are staying in hostel premise at present need not worry about their stay. University administration shall shift them or make proper arrangement as per protocol of quarantine centres as and when necessary as per advice and in consultation with District Administration. The boarders of the University hostels are therefore allowed to take their belongings from their respective hostels on 25th and 26th May 2020 between 10 AM to 4 PM. No extension of time will be granted.

Now this notification has given birth to panic among the student community who were boarders in the university hostels. However, after the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic and subsequent nationwide lockdown, students went back to their home. Some of the boarders are from various districts of Assam while many are also from other states. At this critical juncture, it is practically impossible for them to travel and reach the varsity to collect their belongings at such a short notice.

Many took to social media to articulate apprehension about their belongings, which also includes their marksheets and certificates. One such PG student wrote, “One of my friends informed me on Sunday evening about the notification. I am now in my house in Tripura. It’s extremely difficult to come to Silchar within 2 days and collect my belongings. Even if I somehow manage to come, then also I will be put under institutional quarantine for 14 days in Silchar. All my certificates are there in my hostel room. The university should take the responsibility of keeping my belongings in their safe custody. I am really very tensed.”