Chennai: Chennai district collector A. Shanmuga Sundaram has warned of stringent action against owners of women’s hostels if they failed to comply with the guidelines and said those violating the rules will attract imprisonment of up to two years.
The collector’s warning and also a total of 15 guidelines highlighting the dos and don'ts for running the hostel that were issued, come in the wake of arrest of 48-year-old Sampath Raj, owner of a women’s hostel at Thilliganga Nagar in Chennai’s southern suburb, by the police for installing cameras in hostel bedrooms and bathrooms.The set of new guidelines for running hostels in the city to ensure safety and security of women, that were announced by the Collector include: Hostel wardens and security guards should be given photo identity cards and their contact numbers should be displayed prominently at the entry of every hostel, parents and guardians should be given photo identity cards and the same must be produced when they come to visit the hostel residents, warden must be present on the hostel premises at any given point of time, children and young girls must be allowed to go home for vacations only with their parents, visitors’ register detailing name, phone number, address and relationship with the hostel inmate must be maintained. It said the warden can be appointed only after a conduct certificate from local police was obtained.
Stating that a total of 100 forms have been given to hostels for registration, Mr. Shanmuga Sundaram said the approval certificate granted by the collectorate should be displayed prominently at hostel’s entrance. From January 1 onwards, public can visit the website of the district collectorate to obtain details on the registered hostels in the district, Mr. Shanmuga Sundaram said on Wednesday. Hostels have time till December 31 to submit applications with necessary approvals.
