HYDERABAD: The Osmania University (OU) may soon shut down its mess facility at the hostels for its students due to pending mess bills. With around Rs 7 crore arrears on the head and inadequate funding from the State government, the university is finding it difficult to maintain the mess any longer.
Officials said, in a month the university will not be able to continue its mess facility with the available resources. Professor Laxmaiah, Dean of Student Welfare OU said, “We have run out of resources to maintain the mess. Unless the government immediately releases the necessary funds, we have to shut down the mess.”
In the absence of funds, the university recently sent a notice to the students to pay their pending mess bills. But the students who are mostly from poor financial background were unable to comply.
Demanding the State government to extend a helping hand, the research scholars on Sunday launched a relay hunger strike on the campus.
Stalin, a PhD scholar in Sociology, said “A few months ago, the Chief Minister had promised to release Rs 7 crore to pay the pending bills. But no funds have been released so far. We demand the government to immediately sanction the promised amount.” Like other Central universities, the government should also introduce fellowships for research scholars in the State universities, he added.
According to the university authorities, every student makes a monthly mess bill of around Rs 2,000. But the government sanctions only Rs 1,000 for students to pay their bills. This insufficient amount was always a burden on the university for years. Some of the students haven’t paid their mess bill for more than four years. There are students who have around Rs 50,000 as pending mess dues, said Laxmaiah.
