The entire premises comprising six blocks is a shocking apathy of how a centre of learning can turn into a refugee camp, or perhaps worst than that, due to administration's lethargy. When the TOI team visited this hostel, all the doors and windows were closed by the students due to horrible smell. The over five decades-old hostel building at Law College Square resembles a dilapidated heritage structure where refugees live due to sheer apathy of the officials and lack of maintenance work. Just look will provide testimony of this. The garbage is strewn all over and there is kingdom of filth all over due choking of drain. The grass was not cut since years and benches kept for sitting were all broken.
Not only outside, but also inside looks of the hostel provides ample testimony to the fact. It hostel has a capacity of 190 rooms with a capacity of accommodating 380 students. However, in reality, over 500 students stay in hostel, a majority of them illegally. The inside walls of all hostel blocks are full with spitting marks. The walls are in dilapidated conditions and need urgent repairs. The water leaks from roof during rains.
The floors that are not cleaned over the years resemble heaps of garbage with gutkha and cigarette packets. The incomers are greeted by the heavily stinking toilets that are not cleaned since a decade. The lights are in the passage are defunct, but no one cares. A look into inside rooms has same view with spider webs all around. The filthy surroundings provide a safe heaven for deadly mosquitoes and other creatures. Additionally, the hostel lack a proper wall compound thus exposing it to all kinds of stray animals who thronged the premises and create nuisance for the inmates, the inmates added.
If this is not enough, there's no facility of drinking water leave aside the water filter and they have to fetch water from nearby tap which is open for only four hours in a day. Against this, the water taps inside bathroom and toilets keep on flowing round 'o' clock for want of repairs. Due to choking of drainage, most of the toilets are blocked and the inmates have to share just couple of them leading to their fights. The walls are stained with spit all over. Even a pan kiosk operate inside the premises during night hours, the students claim.
The hostel was not cleaned since many years and the bedding also was neither changed nor washed or cleansed since same then. As a result, the insects infested those beddings. Due to unhealthy surroundings, many students have fallen pray to water-borne diseases like jaundice and also skin ailments.
"It's even worst than the jail, but we can't help as most of us coming from rural areas hail from poor strata of society and can't afford exorbitant charges of private hostels. It's very difficult to study in this stench," dejected students tell TOI.
The inmates hailing from financially weaker background are being forced to live in most unhygienic conditions and served with poor quality of food. The students added that since all of them hail from poor families they kept mum all these days so that their parents shouldn't suffer.
One of the most memorable phases in any student's life is his hostel days which teaches him lessons of lifetime. The hostel days are full of fun, frolic and of course joint study with companions. However, for 380 poor students of this hostel, they are literally living in a hell.
Many persons still stay there illegally: Students
Even after tall promises by the university administration on illegal persons not staying in the hostel, over 500 stays in crammed rooms of hostel blocks made to occupy only 380 students. It seems, the administration had failed to learn from its mistakes when a slew of ragging cases inside the hostel had rocked the university about a year back. Still there are complaints of seniors harassing juniors and forced them to occupy their illegal friends, the students claimed.
"These illegal persons are either working or are old students. We were literally forced to share our rooms with seniors, as they threatened us with dire consequences. They also indulged in all kinds of illegal activities including bringing prostitutes. They organise parties with their friends at our room and bring liquor and cigarettes against our wishes. Those working drew good salaries, but they never move out of hostel as they say they have an emotional attachment with the place. This puts a lot of burden on the hostel as many times over six persons stay in a single room, thus causing a lot of disturbance to the actual student who owns the room," revealed one of the hostel inmates on the condition of anonymity.
The VC had announced a slew of strict measures about two years back to curb these incidences including appointment of full time wardens for all hostels. He directed to paste a notice on the gates on strictly prohibiting unauthorised persons from entering or staying. If anyone found violating rules, the guilty was to be handed over to the police. A five-member panel was to be set up to monitor the activities in the university's hostels and it was supposed carry out surprise raids during night hours to check incidences of ragging and unauthorised stay. Even wardens preferably from army background or from administrative services were to be appointed. Shockingly, all tall promises remained on the paper even as VC's term comes to an end next year. Presently, all hostels are managed by part timers, which is not sufficient in wake of increasing subverse activities and threat from anti-social elements.
Sub-standard food at mess
The inmates alleged that the food offered in the university hostel is sub-standard and even food served in prison is lot better. On other hand, they have to compulsorily shell out Rs 900 as mess charges. Ironically, many of them have resorted to outside tiffins for better quality and forfeit the mess charges in name of the university.
The mess contractor though admitted that they can't provide top quality food as they charge only Rs 15 for unlimited lunch and dinner.
"Our charge is very nominal as compared to market rates. Even a single Samosa piece costs Rs 10 outside. How can you expect to have top quality food? Still, we provide good quality and that too with sweets and other stuff on Sundays. Many students don't give money despite repeated requests. We've eight persons working here. How I am going to pay them in such a less rates. The university doesn't provide me anything. We've to directly interact with the students. Still, considering their poor condition, we provide them concession," he said.
Following the reports published in TOI on August 28, 2007 informing about sub-standard food being offered to the university hostel inmates, a three member team from Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had inspected the mess and took food samples with them.The mess is another apathy from the officials as it is tendered to a private contractor, unanswerable to anyone, and the food served is not only of the cheapest quality but also inedible. The taste of the food is same everyday. Burnt chhapti and cheap rice is nothing to be surprised. Those who can afford have it outside, but those with poor background are the worst affected, having no option, but at the mercy of the mess contractors, the inmates claim.
Registrar, warden blame students for mess
The students claimed that they are not being offered facilities which were mentioned in the prospectus. They had made numerous representations to the hostel warden and university's bosses, but all their pleas were ignored. More shocking was the fact when they called on vice chancellor SN Pathan, they were reprimanded and even a notice was pasted warning them of severe action if they directly approached the VC or other top officials in hierarchy.
Shockingly, the hostel has received funds of Rs 1 crore from UGC about a year back, but not a penny of its has so far been utilised as all files are pending in the VC's office, inmates alleged.
Nevertheless, registrar Subhash Belsare and warden S Nikose while admitting lack of maintenance squarely blame the students for the muddle. "The illegal persons are brought by students only in disguise of their friends. Now who should be blamed?" Belsare asked, adding that out of UGC funds, Rs 25 lakh were sanctioned by the university and instructions had been issued to PWD for renovation of hostel.
"The instructions for laying new gutter pipeline were been given to the PWD many days back, but the officials were busy with the elections. They are expected to start the work now. The instructions regarding water filter were also been given," the registrar said.
Nikose, while categorically denying other charges said the new drainage pipeline work was hampering due to students. "They threw water all around a new cement structure of drainage which again breaks down. They just need to have some patience, but they didn't listen to us. In fact, they are the ones who are indulged in spreading filth. If they try to keep surrounding clean, then the premises will remain clean," he said.
The warden while refuting the charges that mess food was sub-standard said the contractor was giving best quality in stipulated price of Rs 900 per month. "Whenever we wanted to hike the charges, the students agitate. I had been a student of this hostel for about eight years and thus know what the life is all about. The inmates are stretching the matter too far, they speak both ways and we're helpless in these conditions," he stated.
The sordid saga of boys hostel is more or less same in other university hostels. The 85-year-old institution has six hostel including boys. The total number seats in these accounts to 1,073 against ever increasing numbers of educational institutions and students. Presently, the Nagpur University has around 750 colleges with around 4 lakh students, sources claimed.
Table
Hostel -- Capacity
Boys - 380
Girls - 265
LIT - 190
Post Graduate - 130
Pharmacy - 60
Foreign Students - 48
Total - 1,073
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