BARIPADA: Even as Maharaja Purna Chandra College will be celebrating its Platinum Jubilee on Friday, the unclean state of the institution has raised many an eyebrow.
The Royal Palace where the college, now known as MPC Higher Secondary School, has been functioning for 75 years, is filled with bird droppings and litter on the corridors reportedly in the absence of any cleaning and sanitation measures for the past 18 years.
The students expressed resentment stating that some classrooms are unfit for studying, with verandas accumulating heaps of bird droppings and litter emitting a stench.
“It is unfortunate that even for Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the college was not cleaned. The stink from the veranda makes it uncomfortable for us to attend classes but we have no option,” they stated.
The Royal Palace, initially built during the princely State era, later served as an educational institution with over 126 rooms.
After the degree college shifted to a new building at Takatpur, the palace is now housing MPC Higher Secondary School. Despite over 2,100 students studying in various departments, the institution has been struggling with unclean surroundings.
In-charge principal Upendra Kumar Majhi attributed the unclean premises to the vacant sweeper posts.
“Two sweeper posts are lying vacant from 2007 so we manage with daily hires who attend to the basic needs only. The Higher Education department has been urged to fill up the posts but nothing has been done so far in this regard,” he said.