Students try to sell girls college fest invite, authorities clamp down | Latest News Delhi - Hindustan Times
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Students try to sell girls college fest invite, authorities clamp down

ByKriti Kambiri, New Delhi
Feb 04, 2023 02:40 AM IST

Delhi University’s Maitreyi College annual cultural fest has been in the limelight since some students allegedly sold their entry passes to students of other colleges. A few screenshots of WhatsApp chats are circulating on social media and prove this incident, which came into the notice of college authorities who have taken strict action against the violaters.

Delhi University college fests have a vibe of their own, and are returning to the college campuses in their physical avatar after the long pandemic pause. But with the fests, what’s also returning is the frenzy around them. Some students of Maitreyi College have reportedly tried to sell the passes of this year’s fest for anything between ?1,700 to ?5,000!

Delhi University’s fests are returning in their full form after the pandemic-induced break. (Photo: Manoj Verma/HT (Photo for representational purposes only))
Delhi University’s fests are returning in their full form after the pandemic-induced break. (Photo: Manoj Verma/HT (Photo for representational purposes only))

A first-year student of the college, shares on condition of anonymity that she sold the pass for ?500, and adds, “Each student received one pass to be shared with a friend, all under strict scrutiny of the teachers. But since all of my friends are already from the college and just need their college identity card to enter the college premises, I thought I might as well earn some extra pocket money by selling my fest pass.”

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Some students share that the passes are being sold for as high as ?5,000. This sale of passes in black came to light after screenshots of several WhatsApp chats showing bids from non-students of Maitreyi College went viral on a few student pages on Instagram. One screenshot shows passes for Day 1 listed at ?800 and for Day 2 — that has a live performance by Bollywood playback singer Ankit Tiwari — it was priced at ?1,700.

One of the screenshots circulating on social media.
One of the screenshots circulating on social media.

Among those who have tried to buy the passes is Avanish Singh Rajpoot, a final year BA (Prog) student of Sri Aurobindo College. He informs, “A student from Maitreyi College was offering to sell me a pass for the second day of the fest. But, before she could quote an amount she saw the notice from the college authorities that said selling passes is illegal; she blocked me and deleted the chat. But I know so many people who will go to see Ankit Tiwari’s performance and have bought one pass for almost ?2,000. I even heard of some scheme earlier jaise ki ?1,800 ke chaar passes milenge.”

“Even though we’ve got the passes for free, my friends in other colleges have shared screenshots of chats with me, which show how my college peers have sold fest passes at ?5,000. That too without any negotiation,” says another student of the college. A student the union member of Maitreyi, on condition of anonymity, reveals, “One of my juniors sold a pass for ?1,800. There is so much curiosity about entering a girl’s college that people are fighting to buy it. And every student gets only one pass from the teachers since we want to maintain a quality crowd. The students’ attendance is marked when they get the fest pass. So acquiring a pass can be a very difficult task for an outsider, in absence of any friends or close acquaintances inside the college premises . Since we want to maintain a quality crowd, this has unfortunately made way for students to sell passes illegally.”

Soon after the screenshots went viral, the college issued a statement terming the act as a “malpractice” and assuring strict legal action against any student caught selling passes for the fest. A final-year student, who is the president of one of the college societies, is involved in the organising committee of the fest. On condition of anonymity, it is revealed that “The authorities found out about the sale of passes through the circulating screenshots. Yeh baatein phaelti hi hain,” she says, adding, “Definitely there will be action taken, if any student is found guilty. This pass is only to invite friends, and not to rake in the moolah!”

Author tweets @KritiKambiri

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