After allegations of unhygienic conditions at the mess of the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Hyderabad, which had triggered a series of health crises for the students, the institute, in a statement, has claimed that it has carefully monitored the situation and is taking additional help from the public health experts to rectify the untoward situation.
"The institute’s mess committee, health and medical committee, hostel wardens and seniors administration are closely monitoring the situation. Public health experts are being consulted for addressing the situation," read the notice released today, Saturday, June 8.
IIIT Hyderabad student brings the issue to light on social media
A user named Shashwat Goel (@ShashwatGoel7), also an IIIT Hyderabad student, gave a detailed purview of the situation that has garnered more than 300k views on the social media platform, X.
The post, dated Friday, June 7, mentions the health predicament that has been ongoing for over a year, which has led to students falling sick intermittently and falling prey to chronic illnesses such as Typhoid fever, a water-borne disease.
The thread also mentions the negligence of the authorities and a show of complete disregard against the array of complaints and issues that the students have been voicing.
As per Goel, the existing issue was aggravated when high school students invited for a campus visit fell sick and needed to be hospitalised.
Rodents and insects frolicking at IIIT-H?
A page called Food @ IIIT Hyderabad (@FoodIIITHyd) has been actively posting nausea-inducing images, as pointed out by users.
Images of rodents at common sinks, larvae in food, houseflies making the IIIT Hyderabad mess, their playground, and cooked flies and ants in food are a few images that can provide ample evidence as to why students have been suffering from symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting.
What does IIIT Hyderabad have to say?
Providing clarification to the crisis, the notice mentioned, "On 24th May 2024, there were 33 reported cases of stomach upsets (with symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting) of which a large number recovered within a day. Since then IIIT-H has taken immense care to monitor the situation, and several steps including food, milk and water testing, pre-emptive cleaning of water and storage spaces, and thorough audit of the mess."
The institute further claimed that despite these measures, cases are still being reported every day on the campus and that students were immediately being attended to and provided with medical attention and hospital facilities.
"We are concerned that despite these measures cases have not come down to zero, and a few cases are still being reported every day. In this entire period, only 2 students had to be taken to hospital where they were discharged within a day," read the statement.
It further added that thorough medical tests were conducted to examine the presence of pathogens or any other disease-causing agents. However, they claimed that the results were negative, meaning nothing was found.
