Telangana's Minister for Education, P Sabitha Indra Reddy took to Twitter to announce that the state government had "resolved the problem" of the students of Nizam College in Hyderabad.
"After due consideration of the issue, the Commissioner of Collegiate Education hereby directs to allot 50% hostel capacity to UG students and 50% to PG students in the newly constructed hostel building with immediate effect," said the order signed by the Commissioner of Collegiate Education, Naveen Mittal.
Since October 28, undergraduate students of Nizam College have been seeking accommodation in the new girls' hostel building. On November 7, nearly 500 students staged a silent protest from 10 am to 5 pm in the Nizam College near the Physics block.
The new hostel building was sanctioned by the Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development, Industries & Commerce, and Information Technology of Telangana, K Taraka Rama Rao, when he visited the college in 2017, upon a request from the college management. Construction for the hostel building, at an approximate cost of Rs 6.25 crore began in 2018, as per a report by TNIE. The building, spread over 37,163 sq ft was expected to be completed in nine months, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, students claim that six months ago, the construction of the building was completed. Despite that, they allege that the Principal of Nizam College cited excuses such as the lack of beds or compound walls to "stall the accommodation" of the students. As of now, accommodation is being given in the new building to postgraduate students of Nizam College only.
Following the protests by the undergraduate students, on November 8, Minister KT Rama Rao took to Twitter to request the education department to resolve the matter. "As per the request of the students, girls' hostel was built and handed over to the college. This situation seems unwarranted," he wrote. The tweet got a response from the Education Minister of Telangana, who said she would look into the matter "personally."