For studying in any of the 18 Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation-owned libraries, students will, henceforth, have to give ample attention to their dress code.
A 25-year-old student preparing for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) programme got to know about the NMMC’s new dress code the hard way. On Thursday, the student went to a library wearing three-fourths pants and a T-shirts. However, he was in for a shock when the librarian denied him permission to use the study area.
He was directed to a notice put up by the civic body that read, ‘Girls are not to wear sleeveless outfits nor are they supposed to come to the library wearing tight and revealing outfits. Salwar suit with duppatta is more proper. Likewise, boys, wearing shorts, half-pants and Bermudas will not be allowed entry. The notice further elaborates that girls insisting on wearing sleeveless outfits will have to drape themselves with a stole.
“I have been regularly studying at the NMMC library and have never encountered a situation wherein I was denied solely because I was wearing three-fourths pant. I was directed to the new guidelines by the NMMC that specifies the dress code to be followed by the students visiting the library for studies,” said the student.
He added, “I am still not able to accept that NMMC can come up with such regressive dress codes wherein the only acceptable outfits for girls are Salwar Kameez, Churidar Kurta, full jeans and T-shirt. The notice deems wearing Punjabi dresses accompanied with duppatta to be more acceptable. For boys, the only options are full jeans and T shirt or pants and shirt. There is no consideration given to the weather conditions,” said the student.
D Chabukswar, deputy municipal commissioner, supported the dress code as part of maintaining discipline in the library. He recounted multiple instances of misbehaviour by students visiting the library and causing nuisance.
“I have received complaints stating the problems caused by students coming inappropriately dressed. It should be borne in mind that NMMC libraries are kept open from 6am to 1am. Therefore, we thought it necessary to have some strict regulations with regard to the dresses worn. A total of 179 students have cleared various competitive exams after referring to books from these libraries. Therefore, the focus is purely on providing a conducive environment for studies,” he said.
Girl students have objected to the dress code, terming it to be too rigid. “Certainly, everyone should be dressed decently but the emphasis that only Salwaar Kameez and no to three-fourths is too much. There are a lot of dresses that are extremely decent but will not be allowed only because these are not mentioned in the notice. I usually wear Bermudas and skirts. It would be appreciated if the administration reviewed the dress code and just laid emphasis on being dressed appropriately,” said an 18-year-old girl aspirant for Civil Service exam.