PU students’ council undertakes Vaishno Devi pilgrimage

PUCSC members would not say if or to what extent the union was subsidising the pilgrimage. In September, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal gave it Rs 3 crore for facilities such as solar panels in hostels, shuttle buses and gymnasiums.

“A trip to Vaishno Devi is organised by the members of the students’ council each year, as sort of a ritual. The winning parties organise this trip to thank the Almighty for helping them win the student elections,” said Preeti Negi, vice-president of PUCSC.

Asked if the pilgrimage would not leave out in the cold students of other faiths or non-believers, Negi said the students’ council had first organised a three-day trip to Nainital and Jim Corbett National Park for the university students. However, the students who went on that trip paid Rs 3,400 per head.

The students’ council is in talks with the university authorities for a ‘council at your doorstep’ drive at the PU hostels. “Through this drive, we will allocate some time each weekend to just go to the hostel students and get their complaints. We will talk to them about the problems they face. Along with this, we will work on addressing these problems on a weekly basis,” said Jasmeen Kang, president of PUCSC.

Members of PUCSC have also put in a request to the Dean Students’ Welfare (DSW) office for provision of air conditioners in the common rooms of boys’ and girls’ hostels. The council has promised students that fully functional geysers will be installed in all the hostels before the advent of winter. The council has also promised a shuttle bus service on the university campus this year.