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1. When and why did you decide to stand for GS
Chandra Mouli I decided to contest in the elections for GSHA last November. The working of the current Hostel Affairs Council has inspired me, which I consider the best as yet and I aspire to better. It thrills me when people say “Is baar council ne machaya!” and I desire to carry it further for the next year too, now taking the lead.
Mayank Mundhra I decided to stand for GSHA at the end of last semester after giving it a lot of thought. I have been actively involved in the overall welfare of the hostel. I decided to take this a step ahead and contribute to the welfare of students at the institute level. I find the GSHA as one post which could be much more than infrastructure and services; rather than developing just the hostels, developing the hostelites themselves.
Nayan Jha I found my first inspiration during my tenure as ISHA, where I enjoyed my work, and more importantly so, realized the immense potential a GSHA holds when it comes to envisioning and implementing long term goals for the institute. Over the past year, I have focused on finding solutions to student related issues and if elected, am now ready to implement them for our benefit.
Rishabh Agrawal When I became the Hostel General Secretary, I observed that students face many day to day problems in the institute and their voice is not being addressme.co.nz/ball-dresses.html”>dressme.co.nz/ball-dressme.co.nz/ball-dresses.html”>dresses.html”>dressme.co.nz/ball-dresses.html”>dressed (while the services should be such that the students need not bother for them). Because of the irregularities in the tender of electrical sockets in the rooms of hostel 7 I raised the voice and got it changed, which saved the institute approximately 1 lac rupees. This gave me motivation that i have the capabilities of a GS.
2. What is the ideology behind your whole manifesto?
Chandra Mouli My vision behind my manifesto is to enhance the essential services in the institute and the essence has been captured in the structuring of my manifesto. I tried identifying the major issues with the Mess, Hospital, Tum-Tums, etc and envisioned their progress through the proposals in my manifesto.
Mayank Mundhra In my manifesto I’ve focused on the basic needs and activities that will make our lives better by addressme.co.nz/ball-dresses.html”>dressme.co.nz/ball-dressme.co.nz/ball-dresses.html”>dresses.html”>dressme.co.nz/ball-dresses.html”>dressing the most common problems faced by the students. The common thread joining all the points is that each of these points individually contributes a small difference and together they improve the students’ life holistically. Rather than aiming for something extravagant that may be impractical, I have focused more on achievable and practical targets.
Nayan Jha Mine is a people’s manifesto; mainly targeting the problems I identified during my groundwork. I realized that the solutions to the most prevalent problems are very simple indeed if implemented in the right spirit. I want to bring in a sustainable system resolving these very issues and work towards creating a more accessible hostel welfare system.
Rishabh Agrawal My vision behind my whole manifesto is that students should not bother for general mess and maintenance problems in the institute and should rather spend time pursuing their interests
3. Why do you think the electorate will vote for you over your opponent(s)?
Chandra Mouli As part of the current council (as an ISHA), I have demonstrated that I can set goals and accomplish them. My dedication towards my work and my ambition are my biggest credentials and I believe that I can make a difference in whatever I do.
Mayank Mundhra Several contestants write their manifesto keeping in mind to attract the students so as to become the General Secretary. The other candidates have all been part of this system before and will repeat the routine as they have seen it, whereas I intend to achieve new targets with a fresher perspective but at the same time not forgetting the basic duties expected from a GSHA.
Nayan Jha I believe that the institute will benefit from the ideology that I would bring to this office and the changes I will be able to make. Also, I have a proven record of excelling in the same field with an Institute Organisational Colour for my work as Institute Secretary, Hostel Affairs (ISHA) (2010-11).
Rishabh Agrawal Because I have work experience. I did a lot of work in the hostel as the hostel General Secretary (H7). Past experience of your work helps, and my vision again will help me to achieve the same
4. What is your stance on community based vs usage-based messing system? In the current system a student who doesn’t eat food in the mess regularly effectively pays to subsidize the meals of more regular eaters. Do you think that a pay-per-meal system will be fairer?
Chandra Mouli I believe that, in the current situation, mess should neither be fully community based nor entirely usage-based. We will work out an efficient balance between the two. In the scenario where all the messes are private (which will be the case down the line), it will be easier to design and implement pay-per-meal systems.
Mayank Mundhra I believe the pay-per-meal system is fairer because it provides the choice to the student rather than enforcing the cost on them. There will be difficulties in the initial period, however after that we can assess the eating habits of the students and based on that create an optimum amount of food to reduce the wastage, resulting in overall saving.
Nayan Jha As an individual I support the usage based model, but as a student representative I need to look after the community as well and consider their views. That is why I will try out the model in at least one private and one government mess and then decide based on the feedback. The two systems can co-exist as well (students will have a choice of selecting at the start of each semester) if it benefits all the students.
Rishabh Agrawal Yes, the pay per meal system would be fairer because of the fact there is a asymmetry in the messes inside the campus and a lot of students don’t want to eat the food in their messes and the question still holds why should a student pay for a meal which he/she is not eating. But the option in front of us right now seems to have more food wastage in the institute. We seriously need to think about an alternative option.
5. Is there any one point from your manifesto that you would like to highlight?
Chandra Mouli We can construct a concreted full basket ball court utilizing rubble from construction sites bringing down the construction cost to 1/4th the current market value. This technique has been demonstrated in the paved path near Sunrise Dhaba near H1 and I would like to import it to all hostels as per their requirements. This will prove to be an important stride towards a more green campus.
Mayank Mundhra The ground reality is that a lot of the students have to work during the night and are inconvenienced by the unavailability of facilities. I intend to provide facilities like a “night-cafe in the academic area” and a “night-photocopy & printing” shop in the hostel area so that the students have easy access and can complete their work without any hindrance.
Nayan Jha The auto rickshaw sharing system is a community driven initiative aimed at meeting the intra- campus transportation needs while complementing the over burdened tum-tum system. By virtue of this, anyone taking up a ride will benefit from the system monetarily as well because the fare will be distributed among the passengers.
Rishabh Agrawal Involve the student community in the per-design issues of the upcoming infrastructure/development in the institute through an open house. Had this point been in place for 5 years back, hostel 14 would have had a separate mess. Hostel 10, 14 would have had grounds. We would have had a disability- friendly institute. Automatic Sensors (Senseless) would not have been present in toilets.
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