Two unidentified men entered the Osmania University PhD female scholars hostel on the evening of January 3, 2024, Wednesday, leading to unrest among the hostellers. Raising concerns regarding security and demanding strict measures, around 20 PhD scholars along with student unions Students' Federation of India (SFI), All India Students' Federation of India (AISF) and Progressive Democratic Students Union (PDSU) staged a protest on January 4 from 11.30 am to 12.30 on January 5, 2024.
Speaking to EdexLive, a scholar from the Sociology department, Latha Vishwajan, said, "On Wednesday evening, January 3, the water pump workers spotted two unidentified men and cautioned us. At around 7.30 pm the men entered the ladies' hostel and knocked on the doors of the hostellers, yelling, 'Oye'. Meanwhile, the guards were alerted and they started making rounds to catch the men."
"Later at midnight, the same men knocked on the doors again catcalling aggressively. Worried and scared about our security, we called the police. The police who arrived after an hour made rounds, and directed us to lock our doors and go to sleep," she said, adding that they spotted the men standing near the hostel at around 1 am when they visited the restrooms. "Worried about the unpleasant situation, we couldn't sleep till 4.30 am," she said, adding that the men escaped at around 5 am.
Officials speak
Ladies Hostel Director Kalyana Lakshmi told EdexLive, "Despite giving assurance that the concerns will be addressed, the students protested. However, we have already installed extra electric street lights and bushes around the compound were cleared last evening (January 4)."
Further, she said that the incident happened outside the compound. "We also made requests for the fencing of the compound and Vice-Chancellor Prof D Ravinder has sanctioned it," Lakshmi said, adding that the work will take time.
The VC, along with security guards, the electricity department and other officials convened a meeting with the scholars today, January 5 at around 10.30 am to address their concerns. Giving details about it, a senior official from the university told EdexLive, "Electric lights have already been installed and two additional male security guards have been assigned for 24/7 hour duty."
However, students are disappointed that their demand to replace the director of the ladies' hostel and caretakers who allegedly showed negligence towards the matter has not been addressed. Refuting the claims about the negligence, Lakshmi said that the police have also been called and requests have been made to carry out an investigation. Additionally, the guards tried to catch hold of the men but they escaped, she added.
"The OU Police have already checked the CCTV footage and are investigating the matter," Lakshmi told EdexLive.
When the universities have open campuses, the issues of security for female students, mocking and harassment have often been talked about. Moreover, to recall, sometime back, speculations were rife about making OU a closed campus.
Other concerns
The students and the student unions have been highlighting other concerns like unhygienic food provided in the hostels. Dismissing these claims, the director cleared the air saying, "The principal, and we (Hostel Director) have been frequently visiting the mess and checking the food quality. There is no scope of providing unhygienic food to students."
