Mired in controversies and scams, the Commonwealth Games found some belated redemption in the cheer of Delhi university students over their swanky, renovated hostels which they had had to vacate for the Games.

Thanking Delhi for hosting the games Harminder Singh, president of the student body of Ramjas College said, "Our hostels desperately needed something like this. The games have done us a lot of good. Our entire hostel has been renovated. We now have marble flooring, we sleep on wooden beds instead of the iron rod ones and our cupboards are bigger."

The students had been demanding the changes for over a year but were met only after the hostel rooms were vacated for the players during the Games.

Post games hostels are offering better services. "We had internet access only in the common rooms but after the games our entire hostel has been made wi-fi. Our mess now has wooden sitting which is more comfortable and it is kept cleaner and organised ever since." said Sachin Sharma, a third year student at Hansraj College, and a hostelite since the last two years.

Ranjeet Rai, manager of Hansraj hostel said, "Our principal has accepted two crore rupees from the games authorities and the government for all the renovation. It has all been used in the best way possible for the convenience of our students."

Though most of the college hostels have been the beneficiaries of the renovation work, the students of the Kirorimal college are not all gung-ho about the changes.

Ashish Kumar, who had to travel from Ghaziabad to his college when forced to evacuate the hostel room says, “There was no water in the bathrooms in the hostel after the delegates or the players whoever stayed in our hostel left. We only have four common toilets for 200 students. We were made to use the faculty block toilets for over a month. Only after we protested about it around two weeks back have they been fixed.”

All photographs courtesy Sachin Sharma.