‘Govt. job’ is our only hope, say Bihar students taking competitive exams

Enduring pitiable living conditions, they strive for the security of a ‘permanent job’

Stuck in a narrow, dingy bylane in the Musallahpur area of Patna, hemmed in by ugly buildings, old structures with temporary walls and rickety corrugated roofs, is a windowless eight-by-eight feet room in a four-storied structure. Here, brothers Aryan and Aditya Raj have crammed their cots, study table, books, coaching material, clothes, gas stove, LPG cylinder and other sundry things they need to get by. Nearly 70 students preparing for different competitive examinations stay in this building. Each floor has one common toilet. About 80% of the residents cook themselves. Others have a tiffin delivery service for food. Hygiene is terrible. Diarrhea is a common disease. Daylight barely reaches even the footpaths outside.

“This is where we dream of getting a government job, day and night. It’s our only hope in being here,” says Mr. Aryan Raj, who is preparing for an exam while his younger brother makes thick chapattis on the single burner gas stove set on the floor. Sons of a government school teacher, they have come to Patna from Jhajha of Jamui district nearly 300 km away, spending not less ₹10,000 every month on chasing their dream.