My question is not about Jindal but Sonipat. How is it for a student? Is it safe? How is the transport? Do Ola/Uber operate? How are the shops, malls, hospitals etc? Are people friendly to non-Jats/non-Haryanvis?
I heard a story that once the local people living adjacent to Jindal tried to invade the campus. Jindal had to call the army to quell the mob and students saw army helicopters landing in their front porch.
That is true. This was during the 2016 Jat agitation. The roads from NCR into Haryana were blocked and Jindal had given its helipad as a base for the army to land. Soon, the students in SH1 block (which is across a road from the main campus) were asked to evacuate on emergency as people were coming to attack it. As we were evacuating the hostel to move to the Academic block, two huge columns of The RAF were marching towards the SH1 hostel border. When we reached the acad, we see two Army Trucks enter campus from the main gate. Students camped in the Academic block for the night and we returned back to SH1 in the morning. (Of course, all of us were sent back home the next day).
Forget about people off-campus, it's the on campus students to worry about. Has everyone already forgotten the students who chased another one while threatening him with a gun and the actual gunshot during Biswamil 2016 (after which they had to install metal detectors and airport-like luggage scans and make you feel like prisoners at the gate)
Sonipat is pretty good now. I mean due to establishment of Jindal, Ashoka, SRM, WUD and NLU Sonipat (even an NIT is being established there) the city has seen an influx in students. And most of the people are now dependent on these universities to fill their stomachs which is why they have to be nice. Even one or two incidents of violence or sexual harassment could ruin the economy so everyone is pretty nice to you. If you go to a tourist place, you’ll find people being extremely nice to you for no reason. Same logic in Sonipat.
Uber/ola works 24/7, the nearest metro station is Haiderpur badli which is like a 15 minute drive from Jindal and 10 from Ashoka. There were plans of extending the Delhi metro to the educational city which would mean that metro would be at your doorstep. But tbh I don’t see that happening in the next 5 years. You have moorthal nearby and that’s a really good place to go. There are 2-3 malls but I don’t think they are at par with malls in Delhi so you’ll probably go to Delhi for that.
Please note that what I am telling you about is Sonipat Suburbs where are all universities are located. Most of the Jindal and Ashoka students never even go to the main city Sonipat because Delhi is closer than central Sonipat and you’d probably prefer Delhi for your outing. A lot of infrastructure and startups are popping up in the city because people have realised that there’s 50000+ students and hence a good business opportunity. Alcohol is spiked, too much of it and you’ll start puking. The city is greener than Delhi but a LOT OF SMOG in winters.
I’ll check this thread tomorrow for any follow ups. Good luck
Yes, there's Ola and Uber at Sonipat. The campus is in the outskirts of Sonipat. So, for transport from campus, it's either using ola/uber or hiring a cab locally. If you're going to Delhi from campus, there's also a shuttle service to the closest Metro station. If you're joining JGLS, the campus has a medical centre and a store for the basic stuff. Locals at Sonipat are good people but the campus is far from the town so you'll probably not be interacting much with many outside campus. Hope this helps.
If any Jindal student could confirm.
Uber/ola works 24/7, the nearest metro station is Haiderpur badli which is like a 15 minute drive from Jindal and 10 from Ashoka. There were plans of extending the Delhi metro to the educational city which would mean that metro would be at your doorstep. But tbh I don’t see that happening in the next 5 years. You have moorthal nearby and that’s a really good place to go. There are 2-3 malls but I don’t think they are at par with malls in Delhi so you’ll probably go to Delhi for that.
Please note that what I am telling you about is Sonipat Suburbs where are all universities are located. Most of the Jindal and Ashoka students never even go to the main city Sonipat because Delhi is closer than central Sonipat and you’d probably prefer Delhi for your outing. A lot of infrastructure and startups are popping up in the city because people have realised that there’s 50000+ students and hence a good business opportunity. Alcohol is spiked, too much of it and you’ll start puking. The city is greener than Delhi but a LOT OF SMOG in winters.
I’ll check this thread tomorrow for any follow ups. Good luck
Unless you are in Jindal, Ashoka or some other Luxury campus with Barbed Wire, 1000 CCTV Cameras and 100's of security gaurds.
If you're joining JGLS, the campus has a medical centre and a store for the basic stuff. Locals at Sonipat are good people but the campus is far from the town so you'll probably not be interacting much with many outside campus.
Hope this helps.