Laundromat Service
Currently, there are two laundromat service centres, one near Malviya bhawan and another near C.V. Raman bhawan with delivery and
pick-up services for the hostels. Most of the campus has shifted to the new system, though, recently, questions about the quality are
being asked. This has prompted the organisers to take a survey to realise the grievances with the system, especially as response to
complaints of lost laundry bags.
Student Emergency
Fund
An emergency fund is available for flight, cab and cash services which was publicised via a root mail. Four people have availed of
this facility so far, though the extent of publicity is questionable. This point also included the setting up of a 24-hour pharmacy,
which has not been implemented.
Mes s Convenience
With support from Sodexo, convenience items like stationery and toiletries have been made available in a few messes, which can be
bought using the ID card. The quality and quantity of items available depends on the mess representatives’ interest, who can be
approached by the students of the respective mess. Currently, it is operational in the Shankar-Vyas and S R bhawan messes.
Driving School
Despite the agreement of two training institutes and support from BITS, financial constraints have made a year-long plan difficult to
implement. This has resulted in the SU resorting to making it a one-month camp which is expected to be implemented from next
semester.
Vending Machines
Praneeth’s manifesto had promised that vending machines would be set up in every bhawan which would dispense tea and coffee on
a token system. A trial run was successfully conducted last semester with Sodexo handling the logistics. The only formalities now are
the dealings between SSMS and Sodexo which primarily consist of price negotiations.
Pre-priced Endsemester Bus Service
Freelancers’ Cell
UID Code
On prior registration, students can avail of the end-semester bus services for a fee of Rs. 350.
Currently, there are seven companies which have already been contacted for the Freelancers' Cell; Praneeth feels that at least
another eight should be contacted before the cell can be opened for the students. The aim is to get these companies to utilise the
skills that the students can offer.
Originally, mess signings were to take place only on the basis of a unique identification code. As a temporary measure, a Student
Union dues portal has been set up which allows students to get specific details of their expenses on their ID card. However, upon
visiting the website one finds that the information is not very up to date. Furthermore, this service has not been publicised well.
Alternate Mess
Facility
Female students are now allowed to eat at boys' messes, those being Ranapratap-Ashok, Vishwakarma-Bhagirath and KrishnaGandhi messes for lunch. However, during peak hours these messes get so crowded that the service is essentially rendered crippled
as it gets exceedingly difficult to get food.
Xerox at MB
Visitor’s Room
A photocopying facility was set up during Mid-Semester examinations and will again be set up during the Comprehensive
examinations in the Meera Bhawan visitors’ room, for the convenience of the residents of Shankar, Vyas, Malviya and Meera bhawans.
Green Council
In its infancy, it had only conducted a few cleaning walks, more for awareness that anything else. Over time, the Green Council has
evolved into an independent student body which now comes under the purview of the Estate Management Unit, which will ensure
its continuation even after the end of Praneeth’s tenure. The installation of waterless urinals is expected to be extended to others
academic blocks too. Further, the Estate Management Unit, in response to the Green Council’s advice, is planning on purchasing a
waste disposal machine worth 25 lakh rupees by the next semester. The setting up of a local chapter of ‘Engineers Without Borders,’
however, has not happened.
Passport and PAN
Card Drive
The offline process of issuing of PAN cards has been converted to an online process, further, a passport drive was conducted, at
the end of which 400 passports were issued, though the question is one of sustainability, as there is no way to ensure that the service
is continued.
Centralised
Purchases Unit for
Technical Teams
and APOGEE
Projects
President Review
There are two functionalities here, a student may specifically apply for Student Aid Fund (SAF) or might ask for specific
components for their projects.
The co-ordinators were informed of the former option and had been asked to nominate deserving projects, however it was done
quite late in the project pitching process. The SAF committee then decided which of these are actually good, on the basis of which
money was allotted to these projects. SAF can be applied for via the Student Welfare Division (SWD) website, however, it wasn’t
publicised very well and hence only 1 project ended up availing the service this APOGEE.
For the latter, on the basis of price differences, a decision will be made regarding its procurement, about whether it should be done
via the Central Purchasing Unit (CPU) or by using money from the SAF.
Praneeth’s manifesto had promised regular updates regarding the SU’s work and a method by which the general BITSian could
question and analyse the SU's performance. He had proposed the formation of a Chief Warden-led body which would analyse its
work in front of the general public. In addition to using the presses to give regular updates, he tells us that a mail will be sent
containing Oasis, APOGEE and Union Council review, which will be followed by an open session between the SU and the GBM.
Despite having an ambitious manifesto, Praneeth did complete a lot
of his manifesto points, especially the Laundromat system which was
the stand out. At the same time, the more achievable points like the
review system were not implemented. Often, circumstances and a
lack of publicity proved to be his downfall.
For example, he did all he could for the vending machines. However, it
is still a service which was promised but not provided. We hope that
future generations derive inspiration from this President and achieve at
least some percentage of what he has, which is a significant
improvement from his predecessors.