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Uproar over poor hostel conditions

HYDERABAD: Lack of amenities in the 5,000 odd hostels run by the Government for weaker sections, an issue frequently highlighted by student groups through agitations, rocked the Assembly on Monday, leading to a walkout by the entire Opposition.

Leader of the Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu, who led the walkout by TDP members, complained that as many as 310 inmates of social welfare hostels had died recently due to diseases caused by malnutrition and sub-human living conditions.

The issue was raised during Question Hour by T. Devender Goud (TDP) who made a scathing attack on the Government for “ignoring interests of the poor”. The conditions for the 86 lakh children who lived in the hostels would have been better, had the Government spent a fraction of Rs 1 lakh crore it earmarked for ‘Jalayagnam’.

TDP members tried to storm the podium twice when Speaker K. R. Suresh Reddy switched off Mr. Goud’s microphone. CPI (M), CPI, TRS and BJP resented that the poor children were “left in filth”.

Social Welfare Minister P. Subhash Chandra Bose replied that it was the TDP regime which, indeed, had ignored the welfare sector. In contrast, the Rajasekhara Reddy Government had enhanced the “diet charges” for hostels. Mr. Goud cited the notice issued by the Human Rights Commission. A sum of Rs. 16 crore was released recently to improve these hostels only after the High Court issued a directive.

N. Narsimhaiah (CPI-M) and Ch. Venkat Reddy (CPI) wanted all-party meetings at local level to resolve the issue. G. Vijayarama Rao (TRS) and G. Kishen Reddy (BJP) blamed the TDP regime too as responsible for the condition of the hostels.

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