At the encouragement of the Students’ Union, the English Press Club has decided to come up
with a section recording the update of the progress in the work undertaken by the Union. The
Club recognises that it is important for the Union to be held accountable to the students, and
will thus endeavour to use this opportunity for the same, in addition to increasing awareness of
the various measures implemented. This one is the first in the same series of articles. The
articles are composed based on the inputs provided by V V Sai Praneeth, President, and
Ashutosh Ajay Mundhada, General Secretary, Students’ Union.
Presently, one machine each has been set up at VK and Vyas Bhawans and seems
to be working fine. The response from dwellers of these Bhawans has been
positive and encouraging enough for the Students’ Union to go ahead and set up
similar machines in other hostels too. Placed in the common room, these
vending machines offer four beverages - soup, coffee, cardamom tea and lemon
tea for Rs. 8/- a cup. Tokens have to be bought at ANC. While this new
initiative is sure to come as a blessing during the impending winter, some people
were found ranting about a few glitches."The machine behaves oddly at times it swallows your token and doesn't give you what you actually asked for." The
coffee didn't get a lot of appreciation while the consensus is that the soup is
tasty. On the whole, the junta has awarded the vending machine system a
thumbs-up.
30 girls per mess are allowed to have lunch daily in the above three messes,
according to a new system that the SU has put in place. Praneeth perceives this
move as one that would bring relief to girls with packed academic timetables on
certain days and dualite girls in general. Considering MB's lack of proximity to
the academic blocks, and that one would want to avoid cycling back all the way
especially if one had classes before and after lunch, the number of girls actually
using this facility is pretty less. According to a regular user of this facility, "this is
remarkable for people like me who don't use a cycle. It’s very surprising to see
very few girls making use of this system. Maybe it’s because most girls own
cycles and also prefer to eat with their group of friends at MB." While she
reckons the food at MB is better, she doesn't have to wait in a long queue at
these messes unlike at the MB mess.
Putting an end to the woes of those housed at SR, about being too far away
from everything in general, the SU has started a convenience store at the mess in
SR Bhawan. Students can purchase at this stall using their ID cards. Right now,
only toiletries such as shampoos, toothpastes and the likes are being sold but
expansion is definitely on the cards. Says Siddhant, a resident of SR Bhawan,
"This is a welcome change, as this saves us the trouble of going all the way to
Akshay or C’not. Cashless purchase is definitely an added boon. We are waiting
for stationeries to be sold here, as one always finds himself in need of a pen or a
notebook in the eleventh hour."
Proximity related facilities apart, the SU and the 'Green Council' have taken up
the initiative of setting up waterless urinals, which would make use of special
absorbent material and vacuum suction instead of the traditional flushes that
waste a lot of water. As a trial run, these urinals will soon be set-up in FD-I and
FD-II, says Praneeth. The new Laundromat facility has received a huge response
- more about that later in the issue.
On the 'involvement-with-Oasis' front, the SU, in an unprecedented move, has
decided to involve the H-reps of all hostels in financial departmental activities of
Oasis. In the same breath, Praneeth urges the BITSian junta to get more
involved with the SU's activities and in the fest, even though not everybody is in
a club or department. "Even if you aren't actively participating in Oasis, at least
stay back on campus and be around during the fest," he ends.
...continued from page 1 (Safety First: SMAC Instituted)
These lists will be circulated among StuCCAns and Coor dinators. A set of
general guidelines during the fest will also be communicated to them in a
separate meeting, where their feedback will be taken. The needs of the
coordinators will be forwarded to the Students' Union and the Director
immediately. Besides ensuring precaution and staying prepared for possible
happenings, information will be publicized among all students along with the
emergency protocol to be followed in case of a mishap. However, we wish to
gently remind you that the council is here only to assist. It is not a substitute to
the existing systems in place nor will it assume direct responsibility/control of
any situation. In fact, they encourage us to promptly call the emergency helpline
(01596515555) in case of any accident.
We appreciate their endeavour and wish them all the very best, so that we may
safely cast our worries aside and enjoy Oasis to the fullest.
...continued from page 1 (FD-III Fire Damage Estimate)
Thankfully, there seems to be no major damage to any equipment, including the
newly bought NMR spectrometer.
Many faculty members are already moving back to their chambers in the building and according to Dr. Anshuman and Prof. C.B. Das, if things go well, the
laboratories and classes in FD-III which have now been moved to FD-I, will be
functional post-Oasis. However, it is for the Instruction Division to ultimately
take a call, depending on whether safety in the building can be guaranteed.
For now, the primary aim is the renovation of the academic building, which had
already been provided for under Project Parivartan and is now scheduled to
start sooner due to the accident. To avoid all such incidents in the future, Dr.
Anshuman stated that the buildings will be renovated in accordance with the
National Building Code. No stone will be left unturned in ensuring that such
incidents never occur again.
The Fine Print attempts to foresee the future of that pile of soiled, funky-smelling clothes on
every BITSian’s chair. We do this by gathering feedback from those who made the switch
from dhobi to the trial Laundromat service, and understanding the motives of those who
didn’t.
Most students who switched find that washed clothes now look cleaner and
smell pleasanter than they did earlier, although there have been one-off
incidents of clothes getting mixed up at delivery. The President, Students’
Union assures that impending digitalization of the system will eliminate such
occurrences in the future. Some say that although the clothes are delivered
‘nicely folded’, they’d prefer them ironed, without incurring the extra charge
in existence. This is expected to be fulfilled in the near future, says Praneeth.
Having said that, opinions and basic arithmetic show that the switch to the
new system makes a negligible difference in terms of expenditure. The
President also requests the junta to have patience until the service and the new
staff gain steam and become full-fledged. Brownie points for the new system
– clothes, up to six kilograms per wash, are laundered and delivered within
twenty four hours; you can drop off a pile at the Laundromat any time; service
is more attentive.
A wish to support local trade has many BITSians deciding to stick to the dhobi
system. ‘I don’t see the inclusion of dhobis into the Laundromat system, as
manifestos had promised. I hope the loss of jobs is at least gradual and not
drastic,’ a bearded youth says. While the ‘lackadaisical attitude’ of dhobis has
convinced those who made the switch, their ‘mediocre service’ coupled with a
need to sustain the local economy and emotional outbursts by some dhobi(n)s
have persuaded the others. A gradual inclusion of a number of dhobis into the
service is under consideration, according to Praneeth.
To conclude, if it takes the dhobis into its fold, the Laundromat service will
have won by an enormous margin.