HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court has asked the authorities concerned to submit a status report of the students in ST/SC residential schools and hostels across the State.
A division bench, consisting of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice NV Shravan Kumar gave the direction on a public interest litigation taking to the notice of deeply disturbing conditions in ST/SC residential schools and hostels which were leading to food poisoning incidents. The bench set a two-week deadline to file the status report.
The PIL was filed by Keethineedi Akhil Sri Guru Tej, seeking the provision of essential facilities for children residing in educational institution hostels.Counsel for the petitioner, Chikkudu Prabhakar, argued that the respondent authorities were failing to provide the necessary facilities to the children, contrary to prescribed guidelines.
Basic amenities were reportedly lacking in hostels and residential schools for SC, ST, BC, and Minority children studying throughout the State.
The urgency of the matter was underscored by recent incidents, including a case of food poisoning at the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) in Asifabad, Vikarabad and Devaruppula.
Similar incidents also occurred in Morthad, Bheemgal, Amrabad and Nizamabad and Nagarkurnool districts. In these incidents, hundreds of girls suffered from severe stomach pain, headaches, high fevers and respiratory issues, requiring treatment in local and district hospitals.
The gravity of the situation became evident when approximately 150 girls had to be transported to a hospital using lorry and auto-rickshaws due to the lack of proper ambulance facilities.
Furthermore, it was reported that as of now, 10-15 girls are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) due to health complications stemming from food-related issues.
Following the arguments presented by the petitioner’s counsel, the court took action by directing the authorities concerned to provide a status report on the conditions and adjourned the case to October 5.