Students of the Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University, on Tuesday, June 24 staged a protest over the lack of amenities and overcrowding in the girls hostels of the university. The institute has two women’s hostels, one in Chepauk and another in Taramani, adjacent to the campus. But the Chepauk hostel was closed down after it was deemed unfit for habitation and the students were shifted to the Taramani facility on June 16.
The hostel in Taramani has an original occupancy of 456 students with 152 rooms across two two blocks. Each building has three floors and six common toilets and three showers. Each room in the hostel is designed to accommodate three students with three cots and three cupboards per room. With 115 students from the Chepauk hostel brought into the Taramani hostel, the occupancy has now gone up to more than 570. Most rooms in the hostel have four residents for whom additional cots have been brought in
The protesting students of the public university under the Tamil Nadu state government said the two hostel blocks in Taramani have infrastructural limitations and is not equipped to handle more students, which the administration has not addressed despite repeated complaints The protesting students are demanding a new building to reduce congestion in the rooms and completion of maintenance work. With four persons per room at the moment, the hostel residents said shifting first year students to the facility would add to the inconvenience and put undue pressure on the infrastructure
Speaking to the media, two students Rajarajeshwari and Sree Yashodha, said that the infrastructure at the existing hostel building was severely inadequate. “We have water issues, when there are so many students and limited bathrooms we find it hard to get ready in the morning. Water is brought in by lorries and the supply is often disrupted. We often had to attend classes without bathing because water was not available” they said.
The students had approached the convenor committee, the highest authority for appeals by students under the Vice Chancellor, demanding a new hostel but there was no resolution. Advocate E Ompraksh, a member of the committee had met the students on June 23 evening. The students said no assurances were given and their demand for a separate building was denied by the committee representative.
“We put forward the demand for a new building but they said it would not be possible. They said issues related to maintenance would be fixed but in the current situation it is not a solution. Even for that they couldn’t give us an assurance,” said the students.
The mess hall too lacks adequate space for all, the students said. A block housing around 350 people has only eight stones for washing clothes. There are only six toilets per floor whereas there are around twenty rooms, each housing three people till recently. The entry of students from the Chepauk hostel has increased the occupants per room to four.
UGC guidelines for women’s hostels recommend one bathroom per six students. The students have also flagged issues with electricity and wiring in the existing building. The protesting students said that there have been two fire accidents related to electrical issues in the building.
On December 5 last year, a geyser in one of the bathrooms burst, causing an electrical fire. The students say it is yet to be fixed. On April 27, this year, another electrical fire broke out in the B Block of the hostel.
“We informed the administrators around 5.30pm when smoke started emanating but they came, checked the rooms and did nothing. Around 12 in the night a fire started. We got scared, came out and rang the common room bell, everyone came out and there was no staff,” said a student who requested anonymity.
With more students coming in, the hostel residents have been offered extra bathrooms outside the hostel, and other amenities by the convenor committee. “The promises will become useless with the first rain. We are not convinced. They haven’t given us an assurance we can trust. It's been a week since we got here and they’ve been saying things will improve but nothing has happened,” said Aathirai, a final year student. As additional amenities cannot be built within the existing space for new students the authorities have proposed external bathrooms, which the students have opposed.
The students had submitted a letter to the administration signed by hostel residents prior to the protest which highlighted the difficulties faced by the students. The letter, signed by 359 students, flagged nine issues including congestion, lack of bathroom facilities, lack of dedicated medical room and inadequate dining space. A new building was a major demand.
The students in their first, second and third years attend morning classes. The final-year students, originally on afternoon schedules, are now required to attend internships in the morning, the students said. “Our hostel block provides only 16 bathrooms, making it extremely difficult for all final-year students to bathe and get ready in time. Should an additional occupant be added, it would further strain these facilities,” the letter said.
According to the letter, queues would start forming as early as 4 am. This disrupts their daily routine impacting their academic and professional commitments during a crucial phase of our education. The current occupancy of the mess hall is 30 students while mess timings are only 45 minutes causing much difficulty to students.
The protestors said after the letter was given, the administration tried to get the students to sign another letter indicating consent to the arrangement allowing four students in a room. Some students signed without full knowledge of the implications while others were pressured to do it.
A third-year student who refused to sign the letter when the matron approached her said she was told that 16 persons had signed it. “I was asked what my problem was when others, including several juniors, signed without asking questions. She said if you have any trouble she won't help,” said the student.
The students said they will continue protesting until they get a written assurance from the authorities to fix the issues. The students want the government to build a new hostel building or find one on lease. They have also sought a timeline for repairs and maintenance of existing infrastructure at the hostel in Taramani.
Assistant professor Haja Hassan, Assistant Co-ordinator of the Hostel Monitoring Committee, was present at the site of the protest but refused to comment on queries by TNM.