New Delhi, Jan 21 (IANS): The main building of one of India's premier educational institutes, the St. Stephen's College in Delhi, is apparently in need of repair.
The plaster of a large part of the ceiling on the first floor of the main building has come off at many places. Because of this, bricks of the ceiling are clearly visible at many places.
Plasters have come out places from where teachers and students pass, posing a threat to their safety. People in the know of things confirmed that chairs were kept at those place to alert the passersby to avoid passing through those areas.
When an IANS reporter reached the college on Saturday to know more about the issue, a security guard present there refused him entry. The guard did not even allow the reporter to talk to the management inside the college premises.
IANS then got in touch with Nandita Narayan, a professor at St. Stephen's College who is also the president of the Joint Forum for Movement on Education. Commenting on the state of disrepair in the college, Narayan told IANS that it was like this earlier.
"The plaster of the ceiling was broken, and bricks were visible. Chairs were placed under that place for safety reasons. So that if any part of the roof falls, there is no harm," she added.
She said that recently when she was going to take classes, she did not notice the chairs.
"The chairs were not there, but I did not pay attention to whether the roof has been repaired. Maybe they have repaired the roof, I have no idea. I didn't pay attention to this," she added.
Narayan also said that it is possible that now that part of the roof has been repaired.
"New students have joined after the first year admission. I think the roof has been fixed. But I can't confirm it since I didn't pay attention. I will go tomorrow to see whether the roof has been fixed," she added.
St. Stephen's College under Delhi University is one of the oldest and most prestigious colleges for arts and sciences in India. It was established in 1881 by the Cambridge Mission to Delhi.