Fire Breaks Out at Sircilla Medical College Girls’ Hostel
Blaze exposes overcrowding and infrastructure gaps at temporary facility
Karimnagar: A fire broke out at the temporary girls’ hostel of the Government Medical College in Rajanna Sircilla district on Wednesday, destroying the belongings of two students and raising concerns over safety and infrastructure at the facility. No injuries were reported as most students were attending classes when the fire broke out. However, clothes and personal belongings belonging to two students were completely gutted in the blaze.
The incident triggered criticism from the Telangana Junior Doctors’ Association (T-JUDA) and the Healthcare Reform Doctors’ Association (HRDA), which alleged that the college management was attempting to blame students for the incident by claiming a lamp caused the fire despite indications of a short circuit near an electrical socket.
T-JUDA president Dr G. Vikram and secretary Dr N. Chandrakanth Reddy alleged that students were being pressured to support the official version and warned of disciplinary action if they failed to comply.
The associations also highlighted overcrowding at the rented hostel building, alleging that 10 to 15 students were sharing a single room. They claimed some first-year students were being accommodated in partitioned mess halls due to lack of space.
According to the associations, around 200 students from three batches were currently staying in the temporary hostel, leaving no accommodation for the incoming batch.
College principal Rajeshwari told Deccan Chronicle that staff responded immediately after smoke was noticed from one of the rooms.
“As soon as we learned that smoke was emitting from a hostel room, we immediately alerted the college staff, who rushed to the spot and broke the lock of the room to put off the fire. Meanwhile, the fire station was alerted, and an engine reached in time to assist,” she said.
She said the two students staying in the room had locked it before leaving for classes.
Referring to the accommodation issues, the principal said there was no permanent hostel building for the medical college and students were being adjusted in available rooms.
“The government-allotted hostel building construction is going on at a snail's pace. On a number of occasions, we requested the contractor to complete the works at the earliest, but in vain,” she said.
Junior doctors demanded an immediate fire safety audit in all newly established medical colleges and urged the government to arrange better temporary accommodation until permanent hostel buildings are completed.
