Poor amenities plague government post-matric hostel

Inmates say maintenance of the hostel under the Scheduled Caste Development department has never been proper and currently the building is beyond redemption

For the students staying at government post-matric hostel, Amruthukulam, life is a harrowing experience. While basic infrastructure of the building requires an overhaul, the living conditions of the students are deplorable with multiple inadequacies including ill-maintained toilets.

According to the inmates, maintenance of the hostel under the Scheduled Caste Development department has never been proper and currently the building is beyond redemption. “I have been staying in the hostel since 2019 and during this period no effort has been taken to improve the facilities. With plaster and concrete falling off from the ceiling, the condition of most rooms and common areas is very bad. A staff had narrowly escaped an accident when a big chunk of concrete fell next to him,” Abin Kumar, a fourth-year LLB student, said.

Though the authorities had started some renovation works during the COVID-19 pandemic when all the inmates were at home, it was not finished.

“As part of the work they had demolished sunshades and now rainwater enters all the rooms on one side. Books, clothes and other belongings often get drenched.”

Most of the windowpanes of hostel are broken, affecting the privacy of the students. Only two toilets are functional in the building. “The cots are covered in rust and the biogas unit is overflowing with waste. The only option is to shift us to another place, demolish the hostel and reconstruct a new one,” they say.

The students say they have knocked at every door and filed complaints with various officials, including the Chief Minister. “Though ₹24 lakh was allotted in 2019, we don’t believe the amount was used for maintenance. The cheapest quality material was used and most of the works mentioned in the estimate, including painting, was not carried out. The bathroom doors came off within a couple of weeks,” says Jishnu Nagan, hostel secretary.

Recently the Kerala State Human Rights Commission instructed the SC Development Director to inspect the hostel and investigate the allegations of irregularities. The Commission also observed that the funds allotted to the hostel were wasted without proper utilisation. When the figures were checked, it was also found that the repairs were not in proportion with the amounts sanctioned.