New Delhi [India], September 10 : Days after the collapse of a private student hostel in Satya Niketan that killed seven people, Delhi University on Thursday announced a major expansion of its residential infrastructure, with the combined hostel capacity of the university and its colleges set to increase to 12,754 seats.
The announcement assumes significance amid renewed concerns over the shortage of university accommodation that forces thousands of students to depend on private paying guest facilities and rented rooms in areas surrounding DU campuses.
According to the university, DU currently has 3,422 hostel seats at the university level, while another 3,922 seats are being added, which will take the total capacity to 7,344.
DU-affiliated colleges currently have around 3,788 hostel seats. Another 1,622 seats are planned, taking the combined capacity of college hostels to 5,410.
Once the projects are completed, the university and its colleges will together have 12,754 hostel seats, the university said. 
Among the major projects under construction is a 1,450-seat IOE hostel at the Dhaka Complex, which is expected to be completed shortly. A 1,000-seat Nirbhaya Residential Accommodation for women and a 1,050-seat studio apartment complex are also being developed, besides several other projects.
The university said the expansion is the result of efforts undertaken over the past four to five years and will more than double the number of hostel seats available at DU.
DU has also asked principals of its colleges to review residential facilities and expedite ongoing hostel projects. 
“Colleges have been asked to explore the possibility of constructing additional hostels based on the availability of land and government schemes, while the university is also expected to submit proposals for more hostel projects to the government,” the university said in a statement.
The development comes against the backdrop of the September 6 Satya Niketan tragedy, when a five-storey building being used as a private boys’ hostel collapsed in the student-dominated locality near Delhi University’s South Campus. Seven people, including five students and two labourers, were killed in the collapse. 
The building, located opposite Sri Venkateswara College, was being used to accommodate students.