Water blues for hostel inmates

Beginning today, Chandigarh Tribune brings you a series of reports highlighting the state of affairs at the hostels in Panjab University. Lack of basic facilities and poor infrastructure are among the main concerns.

Ishrat S Banwait

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 18

With the summer reaching its peak, hostel inmates are facing a water shortage. Students say the condition is grave in some hostels, especially on upper floors. Boys’ Hostel No. 5 recently experienced a “complete water-less day” with not a drop to drink and no water in the washrooms.

Students say it is a perennial problem. Whenever they talk to the authorities about it, the common answer is either there is a problem with the pipeline or there is not enough supply. With examinations underway, the students are faced with a major task of “finding water”.

Students living on upper floors say drinking water is a major issue. They have to go to the lower floors and fill containers whenever water is available. While the problem is not severe each day, low pressure is almost always a problem. An inmate of Boys’ Hostel No. 5, not wanting to be named, says, “The day there was no water, when I went to the washroom, I vomited because of the stink as people had not used any water to flush the toilets”. Another student says there are days when he has to go without bathing even in this weather.

Girls say they are used to carrying buckets from one block to another. They say these days they have to “book a washroom” as early as possible in the morning if they want to take a bath. “Finding water for washing clothes is a hard task these days; a lot of time goes into looking for water,” says an inmate of Girls’ Hostel No. 6.

DSW Emanuel Nahar says, “I have asked the wardens to arrange water tanks for all hostels.” He says the problem exists in all hostels and they are working towards a long-term solution. He says the supply being received by the PU is low while the demand has increased.