The crumbling infrastructure of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been revealed itself again after a portion of the ceiling collapsed on October 4, Tuesday night at the Godavari hostel. No resident of the hostel was injured in the said incident, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.
"While I was asleep, I heard a thud sound, when I switched on the light of my room, then my room was completely full of dust," said Ansumati, resident of the room. The ceiling fell directly on my study table resulting the minor damage to my laptop, she added.
Ansumati said that after the incident she is unable to focus on her study as she has been traumatised by the incident, thinking that the ceiling might collapse again.
It is not the first time, that such an incident happened at the University.
Earlier, residents of the Godavari hostel also complained about the water leakage of the ceiling during the monsoon session. There are 18 hostels at the university for boys and girls accommodating 5,500 students in total and one complex accommodating married students. According to the hostel manual uploaded on the official website of the university, all hostels are spacious and well furnished but the residents have a different tale to say.
Swati Singh, President of the Democratic Students Federation and a resident of the hostel said, apart from crumbling hostel infrastructure, the students have to suffer daily for basic amenities like water. "In the Godavari hostel, the water supply is limited to 10.00 am only. In this situation, managing the daily chores become a challenging task for students who have to focus on their study as well," said Priyanka Bhati, ex-resident of the hostel.
The situation is worst for the physically disabled students, added Priyanka. Swati also highlighted that delay in hostel elections is also a reason that such issues are neglected by the administration time and again.
Currently, there is no representative of any hostel at the university. To raise the issue of poor infrastructures of the hostels, student unions have organised protests but no concrete steps have been taken yet by the administration, said a student. The University released a notice stating that renovation would be undertaken in a phased manner, said Swati.
"However, the notification only mentions the renovation of toilets in Godavari Hostel that too, it will happen only in the second phase of renovation work." pointed Swati. The students have demanded the overall renovation of the Godavari hostel including waterproofing treatment must be done on an immediate basis.