HYDERABAD: Sleepless nights, unhygienic conditions and unpalatable food are the thorns in the flesh of the students of Osmania University (OU), who face umpteen problems while living on campus. Be it a leakage in the ceiling, insects in the mess food, lack of drinking water and unclean washrooms, the students are braving it all. The situation is more or less the same in all the 27 hostels on the campus, of which only one has been renovated recently.
Fear of building collapse is what terrifies the students living in Krishnaveni Boys hostel. A sanitation worker sustained injuries in March this year in a similar incident. Moreover, with bathrooms and toilets lying in a bad shape, students have to resort to bathing out in the open.
However, many students also say that people, who are not students, also live in the hostels for free.“After waiting for four months to get accommodation in the hostel, I requested the law college principal. He asked me to beg these non-boarders (to find him a room to stay),” said a student living in Gautama Hostel, also known as E-1.
When the issue was brought to the notice of the management, D Ravinder, OU Vice-Chancellor, said a lot of efforts are being taken to prevent outsiders from staying in hostels. However, they get a hostel room using the help of bonafide students, he added.
Limited resources
“Unlike in the boys’ mess, the food is limited for us. If it gets finished before any one of us reaches the mess, they don’t cook again. A girl living in the new building who complained about the issue was threatened with the cancellation of her mess card by the authorities,” said a girl student.
Lack of faculty and irregular classes is the most common problem faced by students of all the departments. “Most of the teachers are working here on a contract. They never take classes seriously. If there are five classes in the timetable, only two of them will be held,” said an MSC (Geology) student.
“Soon we are going to build some more hostels. We have received more amount of funds than last year. Many facilities will be made available including Civil Services academy, and placement cell,” the VC said.