A pall of gloom and some anger seemed to sweep over the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus when the news of the passing away of the three students spread early on Friday morning.
The three youth were returning to their hostel on one motorcycle after dinner and a good time with their friends when their vehicle hit a road divider.
“The campus is big. Some hostels are nearly three kilometres apart. And, there are no other means to commute inside the campus. It is either have your own transport or walk. This is the reason why people keep motorcycles and also go pillion when they don’t own one,” said JNU Students’ Union president Akbar Chawdhary, adding that the union would be holding a condolence meeting on Saturday morning.
Describing the first few hours when they came to know of the incident, Akbar said: “Almost within the hour, the whole campus seemed to come alive. Some of us went to the hospital and heard the news. People are sad and unhappy and discussing how such accidents can be prevented, if at all they can be.”
The JNUSU also said that the accident-prone area near the East Gate could have done without the divider. A long stretch of road that is smooth where one would go faster precedes the divider. The divider sticks out of the earth all of a sudden after a turn in the road.
“A few years ago, in 2007, there was a serious accident which was similar that happened in the same place. There are also a few small accidents that keep happening in the same spot. This should be taken care of,” added Akbar.
Lenin, another Ph.D. student heard the news through word of mouth in the early hours and was still shaken in the afternoon.
“This is the first time someone I know has died on the campus. The sad part is a freak accident like this cannot be prevented no matter how many precautions you take,” he said.
