Students study in cellphone light, courtesy EVM strongroom wall

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Jhajjar, August 22

Students of commerce stream at Government Post Graduate Nehru College here are compelled to study in the torchlight of their cellphones as their classrooms plunge into darkness during power cuts.

Their classrooms are without natural light, thanks to the district authorities which had got a wall constructed outside the windows and ventilators of four classrooms of the college before the Lok Sabha elections in order to use the place as a strongroom for keeping electronic voting machines (EVMs).The authorities vacated the room after the elections but did not remove the wall, causing a lot of inconvenience to students.

Teachers as well as students have complained to the college authorities but no action has been taken so far.

“Unscheduled electricity cuts for at least two hours daily force us to study in the torchlight of our cellphones. Not a single day passes when power outage does not disrupt two or three periods. Since ventilators and windows of the rooms are covered by the wall, we also suffer from poor ventilation in this sweltering heat,” said a B.Com student.

A lecturer on condition of anonymity told The Tribune that they try to study in torchlight but many times they have no option but to tell the students to leave the classroom.

Deepa Kumari, Principal, said the district authorities had been apprised of the issue. “Since the Assembly elections are round the corner and the rooms will be again used for the same purpose, the authorities are yet to take action in the matter,” she said.

“We are in the process of acquiring a generator so that students can study without any hassle,” she added.