Garbage, debris pile up outside DU college despite clean-up efforts

When HT visited the site earlier this month, mounds of rubble, discarded furniture, and household waste stretched across the length of the college’s outer boundary.

As Delhi University gears up to welcome its new batch of students on August 1, a long-running civic eyesore outside campus walls of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh College continues to fester—the garbage and construction debris heaps continue to grow, defying two decades of clean-up attempts.

Garbage dumped in front of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh College in south Delhi. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

Located in south Delhi’s Sheikh Sarai, the college has seen the issue of waste being dumped along the perimeter wall facing the main road, but efforts by the administration, students, and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) have failed to bring lasting relief.

“While this has been happening for nearly 20 years, the situation has worsened in the last few months. Despite several clean-up drives, residents and contractors continue to dump domestic waste and construction debris outside our wall,” said Naman Jain, officer on special duty to the principal.

When HT visited the site earlier this month, mounds of rubble, discarded furniture, and household waste stretched across the length of the college’s outer boundary.

A snack vendor, Rajinder Chauhan, echoed the frustration: “MCD came around six weeks ago to clean this up, but the effort was half-hearted. The area wasn’t restored properly. People are still dumping trash here—contractors come at night with debris from nearby construction.”

To deter offenders, the college recently installed two hidden CCTV cameras camouflaged on tree trunks lining the front wall. “We’ve written to MCD several times, and they’ve been cooperative. In fact, the area was cleaned just a few days ago—but we’re back to square one,” said principal Arun Kumar Attree.

A letter sent by Attree to MCD’s deputy commissioner on November 21, 2024, describes the site as an “unsightly situation” that “not only affects the college’s image but also poses health and safety risks to students, staff and local residents.” According to Attree, much of the dumped debris appears to originate from nearby localities such as Chirag Delhi and Sheikh Sarai.

Student groups have also stepped in. Mohd Adnan Khan, a third-year BCom student and member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), said they had submitted a complaint to MCD on February 4 requesting immediate clearance of the area.

The garbage heap has begun affecting the neighbouring College of Vocational Studies (CVS) as well. Faculty at CVS say while direct spillage outside their campus is limited, the associated traffic snarls—especially during monsoon—have become a major problem.

“There is a garbage house near CVS so the spillage on our side is relatively lesser. However, the traffic jam because of the garbage house and spillage is a problem for us, especially during monsoon,” said Shantanu Kumar, assistant professor in CVS’s Commerce department.

Chetan Sharma, chairman of the Federation of GK-2 Complex RWAs, pointed to a broader structural issue: “Chirag Delhi doesn’t have designated dumping points in some areas. But beyond that, this is also about public behavior. Builders often instruct workers to dump debris in front of the college—they must be held accountable.”

An official response from MCD was awaited at the time of filing this report????