GMC hostel inmates await basic facilities for years

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, March 14

The inmates of Government Medical College, residing at the hostel, are a harried lot owing to the “pathetic” state of the building. They have been demanding its renovation for years but to no avail.

Their anger had been simmering for long and it eventually boiled over during the visit of Punjab Health Minister Brahm Mohindra to the college recently as they raised slogans, drawing the attention of the minister towards their demands. The minister visited the hostel and, finding it in a shabby state, announced a grant of Rs 10 lakh for its renovation.

The condition of the undergraduate and nursing hotels is also not good. The buildings are more than four decades old and unsafe. The B and E blocks of the undergraduate hostel are dilapidated.

Gagandeep Singh Shergill, president of the Resident Doctor’s Association said, “One a projection fell down and students got injured. Now, boys avoid going to balconies. A concrete piece from the roof fell down on the dining table in F block, where a PG student was having a meal.”

Shergill also accused the college management of not providing them sweepers. “Unhygienic surrounding is one of the major issues. Students have to visit a nearby shopping mall to defecate. Toilets are sans doors and students have to bathe in the open. Garbage lifting is another issue. The college administration doesn’t provide safai karamcharis,” he added.

There are total 100 rooms in the PG hostel but more than 30 are lying vacant as students prefer to stay outside that costs them almost thrice. “I have been suffering from TB due to unhygienic conditions at the hostel,” a student said.

Dr Tajinder Singh, Principal, GMC, said, “The heath minister has announced Rs 10 lakh for the F block. Two new hostels are near completion. We will shift the students soon. Another hostel for girls is under construction and will complete soon. We have also written to the Health Department to construct new hostel for nursing students.”