The 500-odd PG students in the hostel who played a pivotal role during the Covid-19 pandemic are living in constant fear. (Express photo by Rupsa Chakraborty)The post-graduation (PG) hostel of the biggest government-run hospital in Maharashtra – Sir JJ Group of Hospitals and Grant Medical College – is in a shambles. Owing to the dilapidated condition of the building, the 500-odd PG students who played a pivotal role during the Covid-19 pandemic are living in constant fear.
When The Indian Express visited the hostel, it was observed that the ceiling has fallen off in places, walls are covered with black molds that induce breathing problems, electric wirings are hanging loose, and the floors are filled with garbage. Last year, a plaster from the ceiling fell on a student while he was asleep.
During the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, when a large number of post-graduate students contracted the infection, they feared further contracting mucormycosis, also known as black fungus, from the molds. So, they covered the mold-infested walls with plastic.
The ceiling has fallen off in places, walls are covered with black molds. (Express photo by Rupsa Chakraborty) “Despite repeatedly informing the hospital authority about the horrible living conditions of the students, no one pays any heed… we fear for our lives as the building may collapse any time,” said a resident doctor who stays in the hostel.
Moreover, garbage is dumped on the floors of the hostel. While discarded furniture and broken bicycles are kept on the ground floor, creating a potential obstacle for evacuation during fire emergencies. The latest structural audit report of the hostel also highlighted the need for repair work.
Garbage is dumped on the floors of the hostel. (Express photo by Rupsa Chakraborty) “In 2021, there was a minor fire outbreak in one of the hostel rooms due to a short circuit. We were promised by the then government that we would be shifted to a new hostel but nothing has been done so far,” said another resident doctor.
An official from the hospital said that a budget proposal of Rs 12 crore has been sent to the Medical Education Department. “We are waiting for the government resolution to be passed. Once we get the green signal, we will shift the students and revamp the hostel,” said the officer.