Indore: Boarders warn of stir if condition of hostel does not improve

Indore: Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (DAVV)’s university teaching department student union president Dakshita Garhwal was in for a rude shock on Friday as vice chancellor Dr Narendra Dhakad handed over copy of an electricity bill to her asking to foot it as she raised issues of deficiencies in hostels stating that hostellers will not pay the increased boarding fee.  “I was stunned by the move of the vice chancellor,” said Garhwal.

Dakshita and secretary Prateek Mulchandani had met the VC and alleged that the university’s hostels are in sorry state and hostellers are forced to stay in miserable conditions. “Condition of DAVV hostels is pathetic. While paint and plaster are peeling off from hostel buildings, the boarding facility lack basic facilities like drinking water and proper drainage system and cleanliness,” she told the VC. Highlighting the issue of water, she said that hostels do not have potable water.

“There are water purifiers in the hostels but they lack candles required for cleaning water. Besides, the purifiers are connected directed to overwater tanks which are cleaned seldom,” Dakshita said. She claimed there is one water purifier among 200 hostellers.

She also claimed that geysers are switched on rarely. “Even in winters I found at a hostel that geyser was not turned on in last seven days. Students were told that there was a possibility of short circuit due to geyser. If there is any technical fault in the geyser, the same should have been repaired but to no avail.”

Dakshita stated that the university increased hostel fee from RS 5000 per annum to Rs 5500 but not providing facilities to students. She said that the hostellers would not pay the increased amount until conditions in the hostels are not improved.

To this, the VC handed over electricity bill of Rs 2 lakh of IIPS hostel stating that if the bill is not paid, power supply to the hostel would be cut. “If you want it power supply to continue unabated, convince hostellers to pay the hostel fee or clear the bill,” Dhakad said to Dakshita.

Though Dakshita did not speak anything further to the VC, she told reporters that hostellers will resort to agitation if the conditions at boarding facility did not improve.