Students and faculty of DU medical college oppose Covid care facility

Students and faculty of DU medical college oppose Covid care facility

Shradha.Chettri@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:14.09.2021

Students and faculty members of University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS), a medical college under Delhi University, have written to the President of India and the Delhi government against the building of a proposed Covid care facility on the campus. They say the area is a designated space for a playground for the medical students of the college. It is also a designated bird diversity hotspot, they claimed and urged the government to relocate the facility.

On Monday, the students and faculty members along with several staff of Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital protested against the proposed facility and held placards with slogans like “Save Central Field”, “Don’t leave the campus peeled” and others.

In a letter sent to different authorities, the teacher’s association stated, “We appreciate and support this initiative of developing Covid-dedicated infrastructure in east Delhi. However, we find that the proposed site of the building will damage the rich biodiverse green area of the complex, when in fact there is availability of land (under Delhi govt) in the nearby areas. The proposed site is already a playground, which is an essential feature of a medical educational institution.”

Satendra Singh, vice-president of the association, said, “UCMS is the only medical college, which has a playground for the students. It is an important guideline of the medical council so we don’t want the students to be deprived of it. The area also houses a nursery, which has some rare cacti. We are worried that building the facility will also compromise on the safety of women nursing students.”

Ramansh Bandhu Gupta, the students’ union president, said, “We support the making of a Covid-dedicated hospital in the area, but request the government to consider the biodiversity loss and medical recognition of the college. We urge them to relocate the hospital.”

The protesters said a Covid management facility near Ramlila Ground is under-utilised.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s office has forwarded the letter to the directorate of higher education for appropriate action.

HEAR US OUT: The site is a designated bird diversity hotspot, they claimed and urged the government to relocate the proposed facility