OU girls block roads to highlight hostel woes

• Poor accommodation
• Inmates packed like sardines
• No warden
• Insipid food, impure water
• No compound wall

Hyderabad: Incensed inmates of Osmania University’s new Women's Hostel blocked roads on Wednesday, demanding proper basic facilities like food, water, accommodation and security. The girls, who belong to the Saifabad PG College and Secunderabad PG College of Osmania University, were shifted to the new hostel that was opened on the campus one and a half months ago. Their hopes of better facilities at the new hostel were dashed soon due to unattended problems relating to accommodation, food and drinking water.

Potable drinking water is available only in the mess. This means that if they get thirsty, they have to wake up the watchman and get the mess opened even if it is in the middle of the night. That apart, the water they get is also not purified. It comes directly from the tank, the girls alleged. They complained that the food served in the mess lacked nutrients. Lunch and dinner served to them also was not up to the mark in terms of quantity. Only those who reached the mess first get enough food. The rest of them had to sleep on empty stomach. Most of the time food was not properly cooked and even broken glass pieces were found in rice several times, the students maintained.

The girls also expressed security concerns as the building lacked proper compound wall. The girls alleged that there was no warden or in-charge for the hostel. Despite repeated complaints to the principals of both the colleges, no action had been taken, they said.

The girls said that they used to pay Rs 100 for accommodation and Rs 800 for mess per month in their old hostel. However, they were being charged Rs 350 for accommodation and as high as Rs 1500 for meals. In the old hostel, only four girls used to stay in one room. In the new hostel, eight girls of first year were packed in a single room and six girls in seniors’ category.