17 students staying in miserable conditions at govt hostel
The Government Residential Hostel for Students at Jamalpur Awana, Sector 32 A, near Vardhman Chowk, here, is in a poor state. Its pitiable building is crying for attention.
When you visit the place, washrooms without doors, taps without water, staircase without railings and beds in bad shape will greet you. It seems that the government authorities have left its inmates to god’s mercy.
The 17 students staying at the hostel had been adjusting to the poor facilities. The reason for the same is that their parents are daily wagers and most of them are homeless. They have left their wards in the residential hostel so that they can continue their studies at Government High School, Jamalpur. There is only one auto-rickshaw for the students staying at the hostel.
A student said: “Our school is about 3 km away from the hostel. We commute through a auto-rickshaw to the school. But almost all of us have to pay charges of the auto and the driver has already given us warning either to pay the dues or he will not come to ferry them. But our parents have no money to pay to the driver.”
The students are using washrooms which are in a pathetic condition, without doors and taps. They rued many times, they face embarrassment due to the miserable conditions. Sewers generally remain choked. Walls and pillars of the building have developed cracks, which the authorities need to check if it is safe for students’ stay as they spend all their time in the hostel once the school gets over.
The building is huge but hardly any efforts are made to renovate or paint it or at least give a facelift.
Each student is given Rs 1,500 per month for food expenses. They get their clothes washed, the expense for which is adjusted in the salary of the caretaker. The latter is reportedly paid about Rs 30,000, of which Rs 5,500 is given for washing clothes of students and around Rs 4,000 to the sweeper for cleaning the premises.
School building encroached upon
There is a school building too in the residential hostel and the government has been requested to renovate the structure, which is slowly turning into a dilapidated state but to no avail. In the vacant building, a few migrants have started residing.
DEO (Primary) Ravinder Kaur, under whose supervision the school comes, said in this hostel, students of Classes VI-VIII were residing but it was in a miserable condition.
She said an estimate was sent to the head office and approval for works was awaited.
