Panjab University molestation sparks safety audit call

CHANDIGARH:

Panjab University

(PU) senate on Saturday asked for a complete safety audit of its campus in view of the recent molestation incident of a woman journalist at varsity botanical garden.

While the agenda did not have the molestation case in the list for discussion, vice-chancellor Prof Raj Kumar gave 30 minutes to the house to discuss the same on the request of senator Pam Rajput.

The house condemned the incident and praised the woman journalist for bravely fighting the molester. The senators also condemned PU's "knee-jerk reaction" to the entire situation by restricting the timing of the botanical garden from 9am-5pm.

Senator Paramjit Singh said, "The botanical garden is not Kartarpur corridor that its timing had to be restricted. It (garden) is not in Pakistan. Rather we should work on improving our security."

Senator Ameer Sultana questioned why PU Committee Against Sexual Harassment (PUCASH) guidelines were not being implemented.

"A woman was molested at the garden last year as well. When the case came to us, PUCASH had surveyed the garden and identified black spots, but nothing was implemented. Why has university not yet issued 24x7 helpline number against sexual harassment as asked by the UGC," she said.

Senator Paramjit asked what action had been taken against those who were on security at the botanical garden that the time of the incident.

Registrar Karamjeet Singh said that no security guard was deployed by the university for the garden and the guards were asked to patrol the area.

The V-C said a committee had been formed under the registrar and its meeting would be held on December 17 to discuss issues related to the safety.

Senator Rajput said there should be a complete safety audit of PU campuses in sectors 14 and 25. "You will need to spend some money, but it must be done. Everyday girls face harassment and it's a shame if it happens at PU where 70% students are girls," she said.

Senator J K Goswamy suggested that besides manpower, varsity should also look for cyber security ideas to keep campus safe. The members asked for proper lighting on campus and CCTV coverage.

Senator Rajesh Gill asked for sensitizing students and society by organizing workshops. Some others favoured teaching self-defence to women on campus. Senator Naresh Gaur said campus safety should go beyond and issues of fire should also be taken up. He said Aruna Chandra Hall at PU was a fireball and was a disaster waiting to happen.