Swachhata, a far cry in marginalised hostels

Kurnool: Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed happiness that the country was fat becoming an open-defecation free (ODF) country as all states have taken up construction of individual toilets in mission mode. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Seetharaman in her budget speech said that by October 2, 2019 India will be able to be known as ODF country.

But this dream may not materialise so easily. In Kurnool district, there are many hostels meant for SCs and BCs where boys badly lack facility of proper toilets and they continue to run to the nearest farmlands with a pot of water to attend to the nature's call.

There are as many as 7,321 (SC) and 5,226 (BC) hostels functioning in the district. Almost all the hostels lack basic facilities.

There are no doors and windows to the hostel rooms. Several hostels do not have bathrooms and toilets. Windows in rooms have no windowpanes and students close them with bedsheets to protect themselves from mosquitoes during night.

Several students are reported to have suffered scorpion bites in the farmlands. A BC hostel in Pathikonda is one such example which is lacking minimum facilities. The hostel rooms don't have proper doors or windows.

During rainy and winter seasons the students face the worst kind of problems and are left to face the vagaries of weather from the cold breeze rainwater entering hostel rooms.

Some hostel rooms do not even have proper flooring. Water, bathrooms and toilet facilities besides doors and windows are the major issues that need to be addressed in the boys' hostel immediately, the students say.

Similar situation prevails in the SC hostels in Bhramanakotkur and Konidela, in Nandikotkur mandal. There is no water for bathing and the toilets are stinking and unfit for use.

An SC hostel in Talamudipi village in Midthur mandal was closed and as the BC welfare hostel had no water facility in the toilets. The situation was no different in the Kothapalli mandal.

Another major problem faced by these students is non-payment of cosmetic charges for past nine months. The students use this money for grooming purposes like haircut, buying of soaps, oil and other essential commodities.

With the bills not being cleared, they are not even able to have a haircut on regular basis. The parents are forced to send soaps and oil and other essential things to their wards.

The government had issued a GO for payment of cosmetic charges, but the payment is still pending as the authorities say there is no budget allocated under this category.