With the soaring heat in the capital, water remains the prime commodity. Even more so for the students living in the hostels Under Graduate Girls Hostel who are suffering from acute water shortages.
On Saturday after waiting for the officials for more than six hours and trying to lodge complaints to various departments, the women from Undergraduate Hostel for Girls protested in front of the provost house. This protest followed an attempt by the hostellers to file a report at the Mukherjee Nagar Police Station where their issues were not addressed.
For over two months now, the supply of water had been scarce, leading to sanitary and health issues. Often, there was no water supply for three consecutive days, which made the living conditions of these hostels unbearable. There have been cases where severe infections and diarrhea due to unclean, saline water were reported.
The problem allegedly has risen due to the dysfunction and repair of the internal hostel pipeline which was claimed by the authorities as a reduced supply from water sources. The promised supply from the Delhi Jal Board had been inconsistent and the water in the two tankers that reached for 650 girls in the hostel was saline and dirty. There were instances where the water was muddy. Furthermore, the gravest concern was the lack of response and attention from the concerned authorities over the issue, the silence of whom enraged the hostelers even more.
The students waited till late night for Ms. Rita Kakkar, the provost, to respond to their needs. A statement by the Delhi Cabinet Minister, Kapil Mishra was released, wherein the issue has been addressed and the cooperation of the Delhi Jal Board has been promised until the internal hostel pipeline is repaired. The work is expected to be complete within two days and normal water supply to be resumed.
With inputs from Srivedant Kar for DU Beat and Kirti of UGHG
Image by Kriti of UGHG
Shefali Bharati
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