Visually-impaired DU teacher asked to pay ₹6.74 lakh for overstaying

A visually-impaired Delhi University assistant professor, Sharmishtha Atreja, has been asked to pay ₹6.74 lakh for overstaying in a girls' hostel, where she had been living for over two years.

According to Indian Express, Atreja, who has been teaching Philosophy at DU since 2015, was allotted a room on the ground floor of the hostel in 2021 when she became a resident tutor.

However, she was asked to vacate after her tenure expired in August 2022. She was allotted another residence on Mall Road but Atreja said it was not on the ground floor and was inaccessible due her condition.

After she moved the Delhi High Court, she was allotted a different residence, this one on a ground floor. However, Atreja said the house is in a state of disrepair and there is no washbasin in the bathroom.

Meanwhile, the university is cutting 30% of her earnings every month as penalty for overstaying.

DU Proctor Rajni Abbi, however, said they are going easy on Atreja and that she owed a lot more than the nearly ₹7 lakh amount.

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