No beds, hostel inmates forced to sleep on floor

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Manmeet Singh Gill

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 12

With today’s incident at Dr Vidya Sagar Institute of Mental Health exposing the vulnerability of the girls’ hostel there, the pathetic conditions in which most of the students are forced to live have also come to light.

The students are forced to sleep on ground because they have no beds. They said that at least 10-12 of them have been allotted one room. Students of various nursing colleges come to the institute for training as part of their curriculum.

At any time, around a 1,000 students from different medical colleges undergo training at the college. While nursing colleges from districts such as Tarn Taran, Amritsar and Gurdaspur have provided buses to their students, so that they can leave in the evening, students from districts and states far off have no option but to stay at the institute’s hostels.

With broken doors and windows, the students said living at the place has never been easy but they have always thought it is just a matter of time. Even the food served to the students is of poor quality. A mere look at the 'chapatis' meant for the students is enough to convince one that these are difficult to eat.

Even the condition of washrooms used by the students is pathetic. The surroundings of the college too are not clean. In fact, the backside of the hostels is just like a garbage dump.

While the institute charges a fee of Rs 1,500 each from the students for one month's training, those willing to take hostels are charged Rs 750 per month more. The hostel inmates have to pay extra for the food served to them.

The students said as this is the only institute of mental health in north India, students of hundreds of colleges in the region come here for training. “When the institute is making a lot of money from imparting training to the students, it should ensure at least basic amenities for them.”