In a hostel, run by the social welfare department in Tavaregera town of Kustagi taluk in the district of Koppal, 100 students have only 20 plates to eat from. This is just one of the many struggles that the students face on a regular basis in several of the hostels run by government departments in the district.
In all, Kushtagi taluk has 10 hostels of the social welfare department while backward classes development department has 15 hostels. As a considerable number of them function in rented buildings including the one at Tavaragera, they lack basic amenities especially drinking water supply and toilets, sources elaborated.
While social welfare department assistant director Deval Naik said that land has been identified for Tavaragera hostel, backward classes development department official Shrinivas Nayak claimed that only hostels in rented buildings lack basic amenities, which will be overcome soon.
Social welfare department has six of the total 21 residential schools in rented buildings, while backward classes development and minorities' welfare departments have six and two residential schools respectively in rented buildings. A residential school of social welfare department in Koppal even runs in a rented building without a kitchen.
Consequently, the cooks prepare food for students on the school's premises. Owing to the lack of rooms, scores of students have to exist and read in a single room. As many as nine students were found studying on the floor of a single room in the hostel, when visited by Express recently. While trade unionist Basavaraj Sheelavantar attributed plight of hostels and residential schools to official apathy, officials of the three departments maintained that the state government has been asked to facilitate own buildings for hostels and residential schools.
