Follow TNM’s WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
Nizam College, one of the oldest colleges in Hyderabad, is facing a severe financial crisis that has led to the temporary closure of its undergraduate and postgraduate hostel mess facilities. The autonomous college affiliated with Osmania University had to shut its three hostel mess facilities for two days, as vendors refused to supply groceries, as they had not been paid for a while.
The college has now asked all the hostel boarders to contribute an additional Rs 3,000 towards hostel maintenance to tide them over the financial crisis.
Nizam College operates three messes, two for men and one for women. On June 12, food vendors stopped all supplies to the messes, and the college had to shut them down. They were able to open it only towards the end of the next day.
Speaking to TNM, Nizam College Principal AV Rajashekar said, “We have Rs 16.5 crore in pending bills from 2019 from the state government. For the past three years, students have not received the ePass Maintenance Fee (MTF), which is paid to the hostel mess charges, or the Reimbursement of Tuition Fee (RTF), paid to the college through scholarships. We also haven’t collected all the admission fees from the students.”
He also said that they had given letters to the state administration officials regarding the dues.
"I have debts amounting to Rs 10 lakh, and I am unable to pay for my supplies. I haven't received payment from the college since July 2024," Mohammed Mujahid, a contractor who supplies poultry to Nizam College’s mess, told TNM. Other suppliers said they were owed around Rs 40 lakh to Rs 45 lakh.
“During the two days of the mess shutdown, we spent around Rs 100 to Rs 150 per day on food from outside. For students who came from middle-class families, this was a heavy burden,” a Nizam postgraduate hostel student told TNM.
Around 40 postgraduate students protested the sudden closure of the mess outside the Osmania University administration building on June 13. Principal Rajashekar, who spoke to the protesting students, said they had arranged for an advance payment of Rs 1 crore to clear the mess dues, and he was seeking an additional Rs 1 crore for hostel maintenance.
The long-pending dues have also created friction between the suppliers and the college administration. The suppliers alleged that the college had been indifferent and had not responded to their demand to pay the dues, and this was another reason why they had stopped providing groceries. Some of the hostel mess workers told TNM that their salaries had not been paid for the last three months.
At present, the college gets Rs 8,200 from Scheduled Caste (SC) & Scheduled Tribe (ST) students; Rs 9,200 from Other Backward Classes (OBC) scholarship holders and Rs 10,200 from Other Castes (OC) and non-scholarship holders.
The notice issued by the college to the students after the mess closure states, “Nizam College is currently facing a severe financial crisis in maintaining the hostel facilities. This situation had arisen due to the non-supply of groceries, vegetables and other essential food items by our regular suppliers, who have halted supplies owing to significant outstanding dues from the institution.”
The notice also asked the students to clear pending dues immediately.