| |
Campus
Environment| | The
North Campus is not a compact campus. It is an open and porous space. It has been
a challenge to make it safe and secure for the |  | | |
University community, particularly for women students. We have been able to achieve
this to a large extent. We have also been able to address the problem of harassment
of women through effective preventive measures, strict punitive action against
perpetrators and sustained follow-up with victims which includes even long term
professional help. The University has also come out with a comprehensive legislation
against sexual harassment. All these measures, over the past five years, have
made the campus a much safer place, particularly for women, than it used to be.
We have also been able to create an attractive ambience on campus. The Jawahar
Vatika in the precincts of the restored Old Viceregal Lodge has now become a favorite
space for the University community. On the request of the Vice Chancellor, and
through the special interest taken by the then Lieutenant Governor, the DDA has
come out with a generous gift to the University of Delhi. They have designed,
implemented and financed the development of two pedestrian precincts as a turn-key
project. | | | The
larger of the two is the University Plaza in the Arts Faculty Complex. It is an
aesthetically designed space |  |
|
with green lawns, brick - laid paths and courtyards surrounding
the statue of Vivekananda. The DDA has also commissioned the renowned sculptor
Dhruv Mistry to create two large metal sculptures specially for the University
Plaza. The other mall is near the Botanical Gardens, and is therefore appropriately
called Plaza Botanica. It is a rectangular space merging with the Botanical Garden,
and has large patches of grass and shrubs punctuated with a number of beautiful
trees. These spaces attract young people to spend their leisure in pleasant surroundings
in an atmosphere, which is both secure and socially vibrant.
For
nature lovers, the 4 acre space behind the University Press is being developed
into a mini Biodiversity Park. The terrain of the Park will be like a shallow
bowl with a wooded perimeter surrounding a meadow with a small body of water in
the middle. The green canopy of the Park will be fully visible in five years.
The Biodiversity Park, along with areas contiguous to it where the Plaza Botanica,
the garden of medicinal herbs and the Arboretum are situated, will be home to
many rare species of flora. A number of new gardens have been developed during
the last five years, e.g., the gardens at the women's hostel complex at Dhaka,
the gardens at the new Mathematical Sciences complex and the University Centre.
Three gardens are at present being developed at the Academic Research Centre,
Conference Centre and the Social Sciences Block. Several new species of plants,
particularly palms, have been planted.
|
|
| | |
