Thiruvananthapuram: Women are grappling with a host of problems in hostels and paying guest accommodations in the state capital. Students are the worst affected. Unhygienic food, dirty rooms and surroundings and non-availability of even basic facilities are the order of the day in many hostels. Inmates of a hostel in Palayam says they get half-cooked food. Recently a group of students were forced to leave the place within a week because of these problems.
“All our roommates left because of the poor quality of food," an inmate said. "The owner has also imposed restrictions even on charging cell phones. Water is not available after 8.30 pm.” At some places, owners prefer students doing professional courses like engineering or medicine and those doing crash courses are rejected out rightly. All hostels in the city operate after obtaining dangerous and offensive trade license (D and O ) from the city corporation. However, corporation officials say they do not monitor facilities or functioning of them regularly. The health wing of the corporation responsible for checking cleanliness and hygiene rarely carries out checks.
"We carry out inspection only if we get a complaint," said an official. Interestingly most hostels including those two-decades-old claim about nutritious food, good security and other facilities. "The pipes are old and worn out, and taps are difficult to use. Latches of the doors are weak making the rooms unsafe," said a student. "The power supply is not available through the day following which we keep windows for light and ventilation. On many occasions, we have found men working in the area peeping in.” Hostel and paying guest facilities here could cost anywhere between Rs 2000 and Rs 9500 per month. “Options for those who cannot afford high rent are limited,” said a medical student.
