Students contribute for cash-strapped Govt hoste

Some government welfare hostels in the city are not being run by the government but by the inmates themselves! With government funds not coming in for the past few years, the students have taken up the responsibility of running the hostels themselves by pooling in money. Though the role reversal happened a couple of years ago, the authorities concerned, happy as they are for getting away without discharging their responsibilities, have preferred to turn a blind eye to the goings-on. Meanwhile, the poor students who have joined the hostels in the hope of getting some government help, are caught in a bind - neither can they bear the increasing cost of the hostel maintenance nor are they prepared to quit the hostel and discontinue their education.

According to C Padma Priya, who is preparing for civils by staying in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) hostel in Musheerabad, Rs 500 is collected from each student to maintain the hostel as the government is not providing sufficient funds. “About 100 students are staying in the hostel and some of them are taking coaching for competitive exams. For the past two years, we have been contributing money for paying electricity and water bills, food and other expenses related to maintenance of the hostel,’’ she says. The situation now is so grave that the hostel owes Rs 1 lakh to the local grocer for the provisions supplied by him. Another hostel at Neredmet near Malkajgiri also faces a similar fate. Students of the DIET hostel, Neredmet too claim that they have been footing all the hostel bills with no funds coming from the government. About 300 students are staying in the boys and girls’ hostels on the campus. K Venkat Ramana, a student, says only those who pay can stay in the hostel. “Most of the students have left to their native places for Ugadi and Sri Rama Navami festival holidays and a majority of them might not come back as the hostel authorities are forcing them to contribute money for hostel maintenance,” he adds. The hostel buildings have been dilapidated due to zero maintenance. With heaps of garbage, gutkha spits and cigarette butts all around, the place looks like a virtual dust bin. Visitors are greeted with heavily stinking toilets that have not been cleaned for years. The interiors of the rooms resemble ghost houses with cobwebs all over. With filthy surroundings, the campus turned into a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other creatures. According to R Sudarshan, Superintendent of Scheduled Tribe (ST) Welfare department, Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts, the ST hostel located at Musheerabad is under the jurisdiction of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) and was built with the MP funds of Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh. Admitting that the department has received a few complaints regarding the maintenance of the hostel, he says the department will consider bringing the matter to the notice of higher officials to provide sufficient funds to the hostel.

By Mouli Mareedu