more-in The Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare department hostel campus on Race Course Road here, housing separate hostels for boys attending schools, Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) and colleges, stands in stark contrast to the intensive campaign being carried out for Swachh Bharat Mission, a key part of which is to stop open defecation. An unbearable stench pervades the vacant space near the ITI hostel building, where the students defecate in the open since all three hostel buildings lack proper toilet facilities.“Before Madurai Corporation’s zonal office came up on the opposite side of the road, we used that space for defecation. Now, we have no option but to use the space near hostel. The stench is intolerable even from inside the hostel canteen,” said R. Kannan, a college student, an inmate since Class IV. This is an indication of the hygiene, infrastructure and other issues that plague majority of the 56 such hostels functioning in the district, that accommodated 3,581 boys and girls in academic year 2016-17. Hygiene One of the wardens said that the toilets in majority of the hostels had been rendered useless mainly due to inadequate availability of water. “The hostels are not equipped to even provide purified drinking water to the students. In such a situation, it is needless to mention the scarcity of water for other needs,” he alleged. He added that the hostels do not have permanent sanitary workers. “Instead, a paltry amount is allocated for the wardens to engage workers on a need basis for cleaning toilets and hostel premises. Even that amount is not sanctioned properly,” he said. Alleging that adequate care had not been taken for the health of students, an official from the department, pointed out for instance that the hostel for school girls in Paravai was situated amid mounds of garbage. B. Pandiaraja, Member, Madurai district Vigilance and Monitoring Committee for Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, said though the procedures demanded periodic health check-up for hostellers, it was seldom done. Infrastructure Students residing in some of the hostels also complain about the dilapidated condition of the buildings and inadequate transport facilities since the hostels are located in far off places. A case in point is the hostel for ITI Girls in Thanakkankulam. On realising that the hostel was not suitable for girls due to lack of security and transport facilities, the department recently shifted college boys from the hostel on Race Course Road to that campus. M. Muthukumar, a student of Madurai Kamaraj University College, who was shifted to Thanakkankulam, said commuting to the college had become tedious. Similar complaints have been levelled by students of hostels in places such as Alanganallur and Vadipatti where they have to walk long distances due to lack of transport facilities near the hostel. Support in studies Alleging that majority of the wardens did not reside in the hostels, Mr. Pandiaraja said the students, particularly those attending schools, do not receive any support from wardens in their studies. “Study hours should be organised for these students daily. However, it is seldom done since wardens are not available there all the time. If they are present, untoward incidents such as suicide attempts and quarrel between students can also be avoided,” he said, adding that the hostels should also arrange periodic meeting with parents. N. Rajamani, a student from Tirupparankundram hostel, suggested that the department must also consider organising counselling session for students in choosing the right career. “When I finished school, there was no one to guide me. Now, I am studying History since I got admitted only in that course,” he said. Administrative lacunae Wardens and officials The Hindu spoke to alleged administrative issues that were hampering effective functioning of the hostels. “A college student is allocated ? 875 per month for food while other students are allocated ? 750, which works out to roughly ? 25 - 30 per day. Though the rice comes from Public Distribution System and groceries are bought from cooperative stores, it is still impossible to provide quality food at this price,” a warden said. An official, however, pointed out that there were also leakages of this fund since some of the hostels recorded inflated number of students. “For instance, the ITI and school hostels on Race Course Road had 113 and 101 students on record in 2016-17. However, the actual students residing are far less,” he said. “Similarly, the rules demand that a warden cannot be retained in a place for more than five years. Importantly, Mathematics, English and Science teachers cannot be deputed as wardens. This is not followed,” he alleged. Mr. Pandiaraja pointed to the non-functioning of Adi Dravidar Welfare Committee in the district, which could have helped in monitoring the functioning of hostels. When contacted, Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao said he would immediately look into the issues. “Issues like lack of medical check-up for students should not happen since health officials are supposed to do routine check-ups. If the allegations are true, we will take swift action,” he said. He added that as an initial step, senior officials would be asked to conduct a thorough inspection of the hostels to identify all issues. *Names of all students changed for anonymity

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