On fifth of this month, a large group of students from ladies hostel of Osmania University in Hyderabad started demonstrations against the inaction by the University administration to look into their poor living conditions. As the Dean, Students’ Welfare approached the students during the protest, they took him into one of the rooms and locked him in. Dr Lakshman, the Dean, was released only after the vice-chancellor came down to the hostel and promised to get the building repaired. In another incident, the students of Old PG hostel forced the warden to eat the food they eat after a series of complaints by students about the poor quality of food. “More than a dozen students were hospitalised after they complained of vomiting and loose motions. This administration never responds promptly. We are forced to resort to such methods. Osmania has a history of students attacking faculty and other staff. But now, we do not want to attack them. We only want them to experience for themselves our plight” said Kumara Swamy, a PhD student.This list of strange acts does not end here. Students locked the mess secretary inside the store room as a protest against the huge hike in the mess bills. Finally, the warden had to come down and intervene to solve the issue. Last year, a group of students poured a bucket of sambhar on the warden’s head since he did not respond to their requests to maintain the quality of food. “We are paying huge amounts for the mess bill. Most of the students are from Telangana region, which is known for the prevalence of poverty. How can we pay 1500 rupees every month for this food? This administration does not even care about us.” said M Prabhaker, pursuing PhD in History.Osmania has become a real problem, as no one seems to be interested in running it properly. May be this is because 90 per cent of the students who come here are from outside and local faculty and administration neglect them.
Nageswara Rao Thamanam
