New Delhi: At a campus already carved up by barricades, another gate on a common passage between Dr BR Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD) and Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women (IGDTUW) has opened a fresh fault line between the Delhi govt universities sharing the premises at Kashmere Gate for nearly two decades.IGDTUW has approached Delhi govt seeking approval for the gate for the safety of women students at night. AUD, in an Oct 3 letter, opposed any unilateral installation, warning that it could aggravate its ongoing student protests. Any such decision should be taken keeping in mind the 2009 govt decision on allocation of space, it said. AUD alleged that the gate “shall be an impediment and obstacle for (its) faculty/students in accessing the classroom/ playgrounds and the auditorium”.On Thursday, both AUD and IGDTUW said the gate would remain open from 8am to 8pm to allow free movement of students while ensuring security at night.During a visit Thursday, TOI found multiple layers of barricading. Iron gates have restricted movement around the AUD vice-chancellor’s office, a no-protest zone, while the main entrance leading towards the administrative block has remained shut for more than a year. The restrictions date back to students’ protests in 2025 following disciplinary action linked to an alleged suicide attempt at its Karampura campus.Students are funnelled through a narrow pavement leading to classrooms, with no access to the lawns and other open sitting spaces, they said. The administrative block, which also houses the canteen, is separated from much of the campus. Outside a gate near Dara Shikoh Museum, students have been protesting for the past 11 days for better infrastructure.AUD said there was “no restriction” on students accessing the administrative blocks. The arrangements near the VC’s office were made “for administrative and security purposes” and the university has responded positively to students’ “permissible and legitimate demands”, it said.At the proposed gate, where iron railings were being installed Thursday, RSS-affiliated ABVP and Left-backed SFI were protesting as they feared their access to IGDTUW’s playground would be hampered due to the gate.
