CS warns hostel officials after students fall sick

 Vijayawada: Chief secretary K Vijayanand on Monday issued a stern warning to officials over repeated negligence in welfare hostels, questioning the accountability of wardens and demanding immediate corrective measures.

Chairing a review meeting at RTGS on public perception and departmental performance, he referred to the recent incident in which several girl students reportedly fell ill at the Rajendrapalem Tribal Girls’ Ashram School in Alluri Sitarama Raju district, calling it a serious failure of basic oversight.

Visibly dissatisfied, he asked why recurring incidents were not leading to strict disciplinary action and questioned the role of hostel staff. “What exactly is happening in welfare hostels? When incidents keep repeating, why aren’t strict actions being taken? What are the wardens doing if they are not ensuring cleanliness, hygienic food, and the health of the students?” he said.

Vijayanand criticised the lack of standard hygiene monitoring, particularly the failure to conduct daily water quality tests, despite available facilities. Warning that the government “will not remain silent” if lapses continue, he stressed that stringent action is inevitable against those found responsible.

He directed officials to fast-track improvements in hostel infrastructure and ensure that toilets and bathrooms are adequate and functional. Works under Swachh Andhra funding must be prioritised and closed without delay, he said. The chief secretary also appreciated the completion of the RTGS Data Lake, stating that it would strengthen analytics-based governance and improve departmental efficiency. Reviewing public perception metrics, he noted that while overall feedback remains encouraging, specific departments and districts require targeted improvement. He instructed officials to analyse low-performing categories and implement issue-based corrective actions.

The meeting was attended by IT and RTG department secretary Bhaskar Katamneni, RTGS CEO Prakhar Jain, RTGS deputy secretary Malika Garg, and other senior officials.