Spring Semester 11: Block C Has No Water
English

Day four. I'm bathing
with one mug and a prayer.
Thermodynamics at nine.
And I smell like the chemistry lab.
Bhai, move!
Okay. Okay.
Sorry. I haven't slept.
Nobody in this wing has slept.
Sir! Day four!
I know. I call the estate
office every morning.
What do they say, sir?
'Tomorrow.'
The tanker comes at six.
Buckets in line at five fifty-five.
Not six. Five fifty-five.
Sir, what happens at six?
At six, the queue.
Since January, C-Block's
taps have run dry at night.
This week they stopped altogether,
in the middle of exams.
A slip that says 'no water
again' goes into a drawer.
Arjun sir needs something he can file.
Every morning, every night.
Date, time, which taps, one photo.
Even when it's boring.
Especially when it's boring?
Especially then. Nobody
believes a log with gaps.
Can I write 'still no water' in capitals?
Capitals are allowed.
I'll keep it, didi.
Mornings only. At night, you sleep.
Which practical?
Optics. Second floor.
My partner takes the readings
and I watch on a video call.
There's a lift in the admin block.
For files.
Files are heavy.
Wait.
Ground-floor bench.
Your height. Mani Anna's idea.
My bench. I never sit anyway.
What else do you need?
A ramp? A lift? A different timetable? A—
Sir. Ask me. Then wait for the answer.
Right. Sorry. What do you need?
The manual. It's a scanned photocopy.
On my tablet I can't zoom it or search it.
My second-years can make a
proper text version in a week.
Headings, searchable,
every diagram described.
In a week?
I'll call it a project.
They love projects.
In January we put up a
notice with water timings.
As if the water reads notices.
It doesn't, sir. We checked.
Twelve days.
'Failure to provide student amenities as
set out in the prospectus.' That's a real
grievance. It's in the regulations.
Prospectus, page twelve.
'Running water, twenty-four hours.'
Twelve days of log.
Forty photos. Sent.
Who's on the grievance committee?
...Nobody knows. Kamala
ma'am joined it this month.
I'll ask her.
Before we approve the timetable.
C-Block has had no running
water for twelve days.
How long has this been going on?
At night, since January.
All day, for the last twelve.
From a student's chair, that's a
bucket at midnight and a paper at nine.
The exam cell will have to
redo the whole timetable.
The exam cell has running water.
Move C-Block's papers
until the water is back.
And send me that log.
Everything since January.
How does a student know
we've received a complaint?
They come and ask.
'Mess food spoiled, February.'
Did anyone reply to this student?
We discussed it.
Did anyone tell the student?
We... discussed it.
Kamala, there are five of us, and every
one of us sits on four other committees.
I know. So give every complaint a number
and a date, and nothing depends on
our memory.
One change. Every complaint gets a number.
A written reply within
fifteen working days.
And two students on this committee.
Students? On the grievance committee?
They write the grievances.
They should see what happens to them.
Fifteen working days.
In writing.
Fine. One change.
And the water complaint
gets the first number.
Number one.
The National Task Force's interim report
describes poor living conditions in places
ranging from premier medical
colleges to state universities.
Delhi University has hostel places for
fewer than three percent of its two and a
half lakh students.
Under the UGC's 2023 grievance
regulations, amenities missing from what
the prospectus promises are a grievance.
So are delayed scholarships.
The committee should report,
preferably within fifteen working days.
A student can appeal to an ombudsperson
within fifteen days, and the ombudsperson
tries to resolve it within thirty.
And under the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities Act, campuses must be
accessible, and provide 'reasonable
accommodation' according to each student's
needs.
On a weekday morning, that can look like a
ground-floor bench, and a manual a student
can search.
Water! Actual water!
I'm going to stand under
this until my birthday.
Day fourteen. Six-forty.
All taps.
C-Block's papers moved by a week.
The water came back on day fourteen.
Thermodynamics?
Next Monday. I slept seven hours.
I'll be able to read the questions.
Anna, the manual has headings now.
I can search it.
Second-years. Very proud of themselves.
I've asked for an audit
of the whole block.
You won't be the last student
here who uses a wheelchair.
Then ask them about the
library entrance too.
There's a step.
You ask them. Write it
down, date it, send it.
It gets a number now.
By May, the committee had
more complaints than ever.
Kamala took it as good news.
Thirty-one new complaints this month.
Thirty-one students
who think we'll answer.
Try this week: find out who sits on
your grievance committee and who your
ombudsperson is, and log one
facilities problem, with a date.
And here is a phrase to keep.
Write it down, date it, send it.
Support details and sources
are below this video.
See you in week twelve.