Stink, pipe leaks greet freshers at LU hostels

LUCKNOW: It's been a week since the new academic session of Lucknow University began but most of the boys' hostels are still not ready for newcomers. A reality check done by TOI found three of the five boys' hostels in pitiable conditions. These are Mahmudabad, Habibullah and Acharya Narendra Dev hostels.
What awaits freshers are hanging wires, garbage piles, and broken doors and windows. Plaster is peeling off the walls, rooms are damp, washrooms are without latches and water pipelines have leakages.
Freshers are unwilling to move in under such conditions. "I have submitted the hostel fee but after seeing the condition of hostels I don't want to avail the facility," said BA student Ankit Singh. Students who have availed the hostel facility are looking for other options.
"There is a garbage dump right behind the hostels which is a breeding ground for insects and mosquitoes. I'm contemplating shifting to a rented room near the university," said Abhishek, who has been allotted a room in Mahmudabad hostel. "Last year, two hostellers were injured when plaster fell on them in the rooms," said Prabhat of Habibullah hostel. He also complained of poor drainage in the hostels.
Dean of students welfare Prof Dhruv Sen Singh said, "In July first week, all the provosts were directed to ensure proper maintenance in the hostels. An inventory was made of repair work and infrastructure required in hostels. Work has been done in some hostels and it would be completed shortly in the remaining hostels."